History of Montreal Expos-Algonquin College Speaker Series
Posted on Monday, January 12th, 2015
For Canadian sports fans, there are few stories that are more tragic than the Montreal Expos. Despite a 35-year existence in Major League Baseball, the team made the post-season only once, and even though the club produced some of the sports’ best talent, the finances of the game forced the team to sell off its best players leading to attendance problems and ultimately the loss of the franchise.
On Monday, April 6th the history of the Montreal Expos will be dissected by Jonah Keri, one of North America’s leading baseball writers. Keri, who grew up in Montreal and studied journalism at Concordia University, has recently written a book about the Expos. Entitled, “Up, Up and Away,” after the homerun call coined by long-time team broadcaster, Dave VanHorne, the book tells the story of the Expos unbelievable beginning and its sad demise.
It was Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau’s big dreams that landed his city the World’s Fair in 1967, the Olympic Games in 1976, and Canada’s first professional baseball franchise in 1969. From the beginning, the Expos was a team built with a deck of cards, but despite its ownership, management, stadium, player and financial issues, the team persisted for more than three decades before being moved by Major League Baseball in 2005 to Washington, D.C.
The darkest days came in the fall of 1981 when Dodger pinch-hitter Rick Monday crushed Expos fans with a two-run homer in the ninth inning off of Expos ace Steve Rogers in the decisive fifth game of the National League Championship Series. That homerun prevented the Expos from advancing to their first World Series, but what happened in 1994 was even more devastating.
The Expos had the most talented team in baseball, but a players’ strike in August, wiped out the playoffs and essentially was the beginning of the end for the team. The following season, the Expos had a fire sale, trading many of their most talented players, and blowing up a club that could have been a dynasty.
Keri tells the Expos story beautifully, from speaking about the challenges of fielding the first Expos line-up, the struggles to secure a new stadium that never happened, and the rampant drug issues that led to several Expos players never reaching their full potential.
It is a coup to have Keri in Pembroke as part of the Algonquin College’s Speaker Series. It is one of only three cities he will visit on his Canadian book tour, the others being Toronto and Montreal. Even better, he will be in Pembroke on opening day for most Major League Baseball teams including the Toronto Blue Jays.
Tickets to hear Jonah Keri are $15 in advance and if seats are still available, $20 at the door. Keri will also have copies of his book available for purchase. For any baseball enthusiast, this Speaker Series is a must attend. Play Ball!
Posted by: Jamie Bramburger, Manager, Community & Student Affairs
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