An old plastic statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders has been disposed, the chain said Tuesday, ending the role it played as a lucky symbol since being recovered decades after it was tossed into a river in the 1980s. The life-size statue was also known for the “Curse of the Colonel” after … Read more
Osaka – A total of about one million spectators attended multiple parades as the Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes each celebrated their championships in the streets of both Kobe and Osaka on Thursday. Earlier this month, the Central League champion Tigers defeated the Pacific League champion Buffaloes to win the first Japan Series between teams … Read more
Nishinomiya, Hyogo Pref. – Hanshin Tigers fans had not seen star reliever Atsuki Yuasa in over four months before his return created a stirring scene during Game 4 of the Japan Series. Yuasa received an immense hero’s welcome from the Tigers fans who made up most of the sellout crowd of 41,050 in attendance at … Read more
Osaka – The Hanshin Tigers finally did it. After suffering through a 38-year drought that felt much, much longer thanks to losing seasons, near misses and even a curse linked to Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Tigers and their fans can finally rejoice. The wait is over. The Tigers are Japan Series champions. Sheldon Neuse hit … Read more
The Orix Buffaloes will make ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto available to MLB teams via the posting system, the club announced shortly after its loss to the Hanshin Tigers in Game 7 of the Japan Series at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Sunday night. The move was widely expected before the Buffaloes made it official. Yamamoto is … Read more
Osaka – Contrary to what many believe, the Curse of the Colonel, Japanese baseball’s most famous and enduring urban legend, was sparked when the Hanshin Tigers won the Central League pennant in 1985 — not the Japan Series. As the story goes, after Hanshin clinched that season’s pennant on Oct. 16, a group of Tigers … Read more
Nagoya – The Hanshin Tigers did not skip a beat in the absence of their star leadoff man and center fielder on Tuesday, when the Central League leaders pounded the Chunichi Dragons 8-2. With Koji Chikamoto out of the starting lineup after being drilled in the ribs by a pitch on Sunday, Shota Morishita started … Read more