This Baseball Team Might Have Been Cursed By Colonel Sanders' Ghost
America's pastime has long been associated with curses and superstitions. Baseball, for some reason or another, has been the target of legendary myths, cursed players, and general bad mojo. While this may sound nothing more than another urban legend based off of pop culture like James Dean's supposedly cursed Porsche 550 Spyder or movies that are so cursed that those working on them die a horrible death, these infamous outfield curses may be more than meets the eye.
To baseball fanatics, the most well-known curse is certainly the "Curse of the Bambino," in which legendary Boston Red Sox player Babe Ruth was traded to the New York Yankees in 1919, supposedly cursing the Red Sox to an 86-year-long losing streak in the World Series (via MLB). Another supposed curse is the Mets Bobblehead Curse, where any New York Mets player who had a souvenir bobblehead made in their name seemingly gets sapped of all their talent — take Mike Piazza, who's 33-home run streak turned to 11 after his bobblehead was made (via The Mets Police). But perhaps the most bizarre of these supernatural sports curses doesn't involve a former player or commemorative bobbleheads, but instead involves a Japanese baseball team, Colonel Sanders' ghost, and Democratic Party member and former baseball player Randy Bass.
A Kentucky fried curse?
It's no secret that Japan is just as enamored about the game as Americans — 20% of the population are avid fans (via CNBC). In 1985, the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League won the Japan Championship Series, and Tigers fans were eager to celebrate. As CBS Sports explained, the revelers gathered on Osaka's Ebisubashi Bridge and called out the names of the players. Whoever resembled the player in question tossed themselves into the Dotonbori River below. The problem came when they reached Randy Bass — an American first baseman. Since no one in the crowd looked like Bass, a substitute had to be found. Fortunately for the fans, a KFC nearby boasted a statue of good old Colonel Sanders. Deciding one American icon is as good as another, the crowd lifted the colonel from his stand, dressed him up as Randy Bass, and chucked Sanders into the Dotonbori River.
This act of harmless tradition, some say, was enough to anger the colonel. Supposedly enraged at the defilement of his idol, the Colonel Sanders' ghost put a curse on the Tigers, and they would never again win the series unless they could make amends. Since then, the Tigers haven't won another series since 1985, even when the statue was lifted from the river in 2009 (via NBC Sports). Perhaps one day Colonel Sanders will be merciful and offer to the Tigers his 12-piece bucket of forgiveness.