Recovery of KFC emblem statue from river bed comes 24 years after Hanshin Tigers' last Japan Series triumph

This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

They call it the curse of Colonel Sanders – not, as you might think, the potentially unpleasant side effects of wolfing down a KFC, but a reference to one of the great sagas of Japan's national obsession, baseball.

In 1985, the last year the Hanshin Tigers, Osaka's fanatically supported but perennially unsuccessful baseball team, won the league and Japan Series double, delirious fans celebrated by leaping from a bridge into the filthy Dotonbori river.

Amid the frenzy, a few well-refreshed supporters uprooted a statue of colonel from outside the nearest Kentucky Fried Chicken and hurled him into the water where he remained, despite several rescue attempts, for almost a quarter of a century.

The KFC emblem had been chosen for his resemblance to the team's star player that year, the bearded, portly American slugger, Randy Bass.

But a record streak of last-place finishes, and failure to win a single Japan Series since, convinced superstitious fans that the colonel had placed a curse on their team.

Many hope the curse may now be lifted after divers carrying out construction work brought the statue back to the surface, covered in grey sludge, minus his left hand and trademark black-rimmed spectacles.

His appearance was greeted with cheers from workers and a large contingent of reporters sent to witness the recovery operation.

"It's only a statue, but I felt as if I was rescuing someone," one worker said.

Yoshio Yoshida, the Tigers' manager in 1985, summed up the mood in Osaka, a once great merchant city that has had precious little to celebrate on the baseball field.

"When I heard the statue had been found, I felt that a chapter in history had been closed," he told the Asahi newspaper.

Today, the colonel was in protective custody, but plans are reportedly being hatched to place him in harm's way again with a move to the Tigers' Koshien stadium home.

While the Hanshin faithful are convinced that a Japan Series awaits this year, fans of all teams have a vested interest in a Tigers victory. Their triumph 24 years ago was followed by huge stock market gains and the start of the economic bubble.

Right on cue, the Nikkei benchmark index leapt 4.6% in Tokyo, its biggest gain since the end of January.