A memorial service for a Colonel Sanders statue, a symbol of the Hanshin Tigers’ ups and downs, is held at Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine in Osaka on March 8. (Provided by KFC Holdings Japan)

Photo/Illutration A memorial service for a Colonel Sanders statue, a familiar symbol for fans of the Hanshin Tigers, is held at Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine in Osaka on March 8. (Provided by KFC Holdings Japan)

OSAKA—A memorial service was held here for a figure beloved by Hanshin Tigers fans but also reviled as the source of the team’s decades-long championship drought.

A statue of Colonel Sanders, with its white beard and white suit badly stained and deteriorating, was laid to rest after a rather peculiar life.

In Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox went 86 years without winning a World Series after trading Babe Ruth and being “cursed” by the Bambino.

In Nippon Professional Baseball, the Hanshin Tigers similarly suffered through the curse of the colonel.

The Tigers, established in 1935, won their first Japan Series championship in 1985.

To reach the finals, the Kansai-based team had to win the Central League pennant, which they did on Oct. 16 for the first time in 21 years.

The celebration in central Osaka extended well into the night. Some fans turned their attention to the Colonel Sanders statue standing under the eaves of the KFC Dotonbori store.

The statue was said to resemble the team’s slugger, Randy Bass. It was removed and tossed in the air to emulate the “douage” baseball celebration.

The colonel was then carried to the Dotonbori river and tossed into the murky water.

Although the Tigers later won the Japan Series, it was their last hurrah for nearly four decades.

Frustrated fans started saying “the curse of Colonel Sanders” was to blame for the team’s drought.

Searches of the river were conducted, but the statue could not be found.

After missing for 24 years, divers examining unexploded ordnance at the bottom of the river found the upper half of the statue buried in sludge on March 10, 2009.

Other severely damaged parts were also recovered, and the statue was restored.

In June that year, Tigers fans celebrated the miraculous return of the statue and named it “Welcome back Colonel,” a symbol of good fortune.

It was later displayed at events in Osaka and at the KFC Hanshin Koshien store located near the Tigers’ home stadium.

But the curse continued.

Finally, in 2023, the Tigers defeated the Orix Buffaloes to win their first Japan Series title in 38 years. The curse had been lifted, and some Hanshin fans celebrated in Colonel Sanders costumes.

The KFC Dotonbori store is now closed. And the retrieved statue had deteriorated so much that it was difficult to store.

Although now a part of Japanese baseball lore, KFC Holdings Japan decided to dispose of the statue.

On March 8, the company held “ningyo kuyo,” a special memorial service for dolls and stuffed animals, for the Colonel Sanders statue at Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine in Osaka.

Takayuki Hanji, president of the company, and other executives attended the service, offered sake and fried chicken, and said goodbye.

The company revealed the sad news on March 19.

“We want to thank all of the fans for their friendship and love for the statue,” the company said in a statement.

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