Did Texas Baseball Players Kill Chickens to Win Game?

The Western Hills High baseball team wasn’t doing so well—so, allegedly, two of its players sacrificed chickens on the field in an effort to improve the team’s performance. The bizarre ritual was referenced in Major League, although in that movie, the struggling player sacrificed a bucket of fried chicken. In real life, the two Texas teens may have sacrificed live chickens, possibly baby chicks, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, as noted by Pat's Papers.

Police are investigating the reports, and school officials say the players were disciplined and booted from the team for the rest of the year. "Baseball is very superstitious, and I assume [movies like Major League] are where they got it from," the baseball coach says. Last year, a San Diego Padres player asked for a bucket of chicken to end the team’s losing streak, but the stunt didn’t work. Western Hills, however, did trounce Southwest High School 11-1 last night. (More Texas stories.)