The Colonel Sanders statue retrieved from the Dotonbori river
SANKEI

Colonel Sanders statue and his curse lifted from Dotonbori River in Osaka

Wednesday 11th March, 08:52 AM JST

OSAKA —

He was covered in mud when pulled from the river, and had lost both legs and hands, not to mention his glasses. But Colonel Sanders still had his trademark smile, 24 years later.

A statue of the KFC mascot has been found in a river in Osaka, a city official said Wednesday, nearly a quarter century after being tossed in by crazed baseball fans who felt the image of restaurant founder Harland Sanders resembled a key team member.

“He was apparently found standing upright, which is fitting, because although he was a nice man he could also be very strict and demanding,” said Sumeo Yokakawa, a spokeswoman at the chain’s Tokyo headquarters.

She said the statue was taken from a nearby KFC restaurant and tossed in the river as part of a celebration by baseball fans in 1985, the year Osaka’s baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, won the national championship.

Local fans thought the Colonel bore a resemblance to Randy Bass, a bearded power hitter and first baseman from the U.S. who played for the team at the time.

Fans often jump into the murky river to celebrate the team’s successes, but there has been little to celebrate in recent years. Many fans feel the team has been plagued by the “curse of Colonel Sanders” since his effigy was submerged in 1985.

It has failed to win a national championship since, although it did win its division in 2003.

The upper half of the statue was found Tuesday in Osaka’s Dotonburi River during construction work to build a new walkway, according to city official Hideo Yuko. His legs and right hand were found Wednesday morning.

The colonel will be kept in police custody for the time being, but Yokakawa said KFC is considering donating him to the home stadium of the Tigers in Osaka. The store where he originally stood has since closed.

The KFC chain currently operates about 1,160 restaurants in Japan, and has about 1,000 Colonel Sanders statues in the country.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 33 Total Comments Show All

gogogo at 11:52 AM JST - 11th March

So who was arrested for it?
blvtzpk at 12:04 PM JST - 11th March

Psst...the Col's going down again. I can feel it in my bones...wishbones that is!
Ranger_Miffy at 02:10 PM JST - 11th March

People of Japan...please throw all those hideous KFC and Ronald Mcdonald clowns into your rivers. Let them be food...for fishes!
GW at 02:14 PM JST - 11th March

ranger

do you really think there is any alive in those waters..........I dont!
dennis0bauer at 03:29 PM JST - 11th March

GW check the sushi in Osaka to be sure.

Randy Bass looks like Colonel Sanders??????
Ranger_Miffy at 03:41 PM JST - 11th March

fishes...figuratively speaking...depends on your river, I suppose. :-\
Noripinhead at 05:34 PM JST - 11th March

Imagine if it had been found thousands of years from now by some archaeologists looking back on the ancient culture of 21st century Japan. They would have assigned as the statue of the Lawgiver of Life, the Colonel of Sanders, a figure revered throughout the nation, and none of these statues would be ever be found in the former continental United States of America.
wanderlust at 07:38 PM JST - 11th March

So what do they have outside the 160 KFC stores that have no statue of Col. Sanders?
grafton at 10:11 PM JST - 11th March

“The colonel will be kept in police custody for the time being,”

No doubt he will make an admission guilt after 24 hours. Not sure for what crime, but that is a mere detail.
Sarge at 10:54 PM JST - 11th March

smith: "Oddly, the statue looks more life-like now than those statues do when new"

By golly, smith, you're right! The Colonel looks as if he's saying, "My chicken's so finger-lickin' good, I licked my fingers clean off!"
Sarge at 10:55 PM JST - 11th March

Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?

A. To get away from Colonel Sanders.
some14some at 11:17 PM JST - 11th March

"If the Devil finds a Man idle, he'll set him at work", recession once-in-a-century?
Nessie at 11:54 PM JST - 11th March

You shall know the power of the Force, young Padawan.
afterhous at 02:00 AM JST - 12th March

LOL. They're still looking for his left hand and his glasses.
Ranger_Miffy at 10:33 AM JST - 12th March

Replace those lurid statues with a nice park bench seat so people can find a place to SIT DOWN and enjoy their chow. That would be a real service!