It’s Friday the 13th, and is anyone still superstitious?

The fabled bad-luck day likely has run its course in today’s world, but some of us may still feel a little leery about the day. In the past, I always felt a little leery, and I can remember some bad things that happened.

We stayed away from black cats, didn’t walk under a ladder, or step on a sidewalk crack. Some of the origins of the day can be traced back through a religious option, as Judas was the 13th guest at the Last Supper and betrayed Jesus. In today’s society, the day gained steam through the “Friday the 13th” movie series that gave life to the Jason Voorhees character.

And we all have seen our share of the “Sports Illustrated” cover jinx, and the curse of “The Bambino.”

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column — reminiscing about sports and pop culture in the 1960s, 70s and 80s as well as before and beyond — I’ll take a look at some of the superstitions and bad luck involving the Philadelphia sports teams and some pop-culture items along the way.

Do you know what wrestler used the “Big Splash,” and what color could have been the Phillies cap in 1994?

Philling It Up ... Over the years, the Phillies’ worst scenarios dealing with bad luck easily are the 1964 collapse, the “Black Friday” game – which was on Oct. 7 — and Toronto’s Joe Carter walk-off homer in 1993. You could also look at last year’s playoff fold against the Diamondbacks, which will go down in the annals.

Overall, the Phillies have a 49-53 record on Friday the 13, which isn’t too bad.

In 1913, the Phillies had one of the best starts in team history when they raced out to a 38-17 start and then went 50-46 the rest of the way, depriving the city of a possible All-Philadelphia World Series between the Phillies and the A’s.

Former Phillie Chris Coste would smell his bat after hitting a foul ball. He said it was part superstition, but he also liked smelling the bat afterwards. Turk Wendell, another former Phillie, chewed four pieces of licorice while on the mound and then brushed his teeth between every inning. He also waved at the center fielder before he released a pitch.

Then there’s the curse of Billy Penn, when a building in 1987 surpassed the Penn’s statue at the top of Philly’s City Hall. No Philly team won a championship until 2008.

On a positive note, the Phils had one of their most productive games in club history when they throttled the Cardinals, 20-2, on Friday, June 13, 2008.

Ryan Howard hit two homers and had five RBIs, and Chase Utley smacked a homer and added three RBIs. The Phils pounded out 21 hits, and Kyle Kendrick allowed eight hits over seven innings to pick up the victory.

Flyin’ Low ... The Eagles wouldn’t have any results on Friday the 13th, but they blew a 21-point lead to the Cardinals in a stunning 25-24 loss in Andy Reid’s stunning 25-24 loss in Andy Reid’s coaching debut on Sept. 12, 1999.

Current Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was the Birds’ quarterback, and he completed 12 of 26 passes for 91 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Duce Staley ran 21 times for 111 yards with a touchdown.

Cardinal quarterback Jake “The Snake” Plummer (remember him?) completed 25 of 48 passes for 248 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.

Former Packers’ kicker Chris Jacke kicked a game-winning 31-yard field goal with four seconds left.

It was the first of 11 losses (5-11) for the season, but the Eagles did rally to win the final two games of the year.

They Actually Did It ... There have been a number of MLB players who had some unique superstitions. Here are a few:

Former Red Sox and Yankee Wade Boggs ate a whole chicken before a game; the late Tiger Mark “The Bird” Fidrych spoke to the ball before every pitch; former Pirate and Giant Barry Bonds would kiss his gold cross necklace after he hit a home run.

Also, former Yankee Roger Clemens visited Monument Park to touch the head of the Babe Ruth statue before he pitched in Yankee Stadium. He also named all of his children’s names that began with the letter K; former Twin and Met pitcher Frank Viola cleaned the mound before every inning, kicking up the dirt exactly four times. If something went wrong, he would kick it either three or five times.

Former Met and Phillie Kevin Elster slept with his bat and took it to lunch during the 1988 season. Elster hit nine homers, but only batted .214.

Former Giant Tito Fuentes sprayed “voodoo juice” on his glove, arms, hands and feet. He also carried a pouch with an eagle’s claw and turtle shells in his back pocket.

A Foul Scent ... Along with traditional superstitions, there were some very unusual ones.

Former Astros reliever Charlie Kerfeld wore a “Jetsons” T-shirt for a long, successful stint and didn’t wash it until it ended; former Brave Dion James had a 16-game hitting streak in 1988, and refused to wash his underwear during the stint.

Vida’s Blues ... Former A’s pitcher Vida Blue didn’t wash his cap from opening day in 1974 through 1977. In 1977, umpires refused to allow him to wear it because it was very dirty, and Blue burned it on the field. He finished the year with a 14-19 record.

Phillies’ Blues ... In 1994, the Phillies unveiled blue caps with a red “P” as a new item off their 1993 World Series. I still have one packed away, and it always was one of my favorite caps.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go over well with the Phillies, as they quickly disposed of them. According to published reports, Dave Hollins took a box of the caps, threw them into the trash, and poured potato salad and baked beans on top of them.

It was the end of a sharp-looking hat. If you have one, hold on to it.

Another Lost Game ... In 1977, Milton Bradley released the board game, “Superstition,” as well as “BigFoot, The Snow Monster Game,” both dealing with the superstitious angle.

If you go back to 1970, you may have had “Which Witch,” another Milton Bradley board game. Back further, does anyone have the “Casper the Ghost” game that was released in the 60s?

WWF/WWE Wrap ... Each week, I’ll recount a former wrestler from our youth.

Do you remember King Curtis? Officially known as Curtis Iaukea, the native Hawaiian began his career in 1955 and wrestled until 1980. His primary move was “The Big Splash.”

Curtis spent most of his time in the NWA and IWA (was the IWA heavyweight champion), but did hold the WWWF Tag Team championship with the legendary Baron Mikel Sciculna for 11 days in 1972, the same year he was defeated by Pedro Morales for the heavyweight title.

He had a career record of 503-533, and passed away at the age of 73 in 2010.

Memory Lane ... Each week, I’ll recall a former player, manager, coach, or media personality from our yesterday.

Do you remember Phillies’ starter/reliever Mike Williams? In terms of bad luck, Williams had his share in the 1996 season. He entered the season as a part of the rotation after he posted a 3-3, 3.29 campaign the previous year.

Williams struggled from the start, finishing with an overall 6-14 record with a 5.44 ERA.

In 167 innings, he allowed 188 hits, 25 home runs, and a league-high 16 wild pitches. He opted for free agency and signed with Boston, but was released in the spring.

After stops at Kansas City, Houston, and Pittsburgh (twice), Williams was traded back to the Phillies by the Pirates before the 2003 season. He was 0-4 with a 5.96 ERA in 28 games.

Overall, Williams went 32-54 with a 4.45 ERA in 12 seasons, having a 13-29 mark with a 4.94 ERA in six seasons with the Phillies.

Your thoughts? They are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com