The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks were a team in Nippon Professional Baseball. Previously, they were known as the Nankai Hawks and were based in Osaka. They were owned by supermarket chain Daiei. In 2005, due to pressure from Daiei executives to avoid bankruptcy and a failed merger with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Daiei had to sell the team to SoftBank Group in 2005 and become the modern day Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. At the time of the sale, the team was managed by the legendary Sadaharu Oh. They won 2 Japan Series championships in 1999 and 2003.