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 ...

Well, the Curse of the Colonel was, they were cursed, supposedly, by the spirit of Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken. That started when, in 1985 the Tigers won the Central League pennant ...

Hanshin won its first Japan Series title since 1985 — the year their fans celebrated by throwing a statue of Colonel Sanders in a canal.

Outside most branches of KFC Japan standers a life-size statue of the Colonel, dressed in his signature white suit and string tie. May 5 is Children’s Day in Japan, though, when it’s the customs for ...