50 Fun Facts About Montreal Expos

Which future NFL quarterback did the Montreal Expos pick in the 1995 baseball draft?

Tom Brady stuck with football, and when he retired from the NFL in 2023 he was the last Expos draft pick active in any professional sport.

Bonnie Erickson, designer of the Expos' furry orange mascot, also designed which Muppets character?

Miss Piggy was Erickson's work for Jim Henson. The Expos chose her mascot design after their first attempt, Souki, frightened children and was retired after one season.

The Montreal Expos, who began play in 1969, took their name from which kind of event?

A world's fair called Expo 67 had just closed in Montreal when the team was named. The name appealed partly because it is spelled the same in French and English.

Which pioneer played for Montreal's minor-league Royals in 1946, a year before his major league debut?

Jackie Robinson led the Royals to a Junior World Series title that season. When the club folded in 1960, Montreal's politicians began lobbying for a major league team.

What halted the 1994 season in August while the Montreal Expos owned the best record in baseball?

A players' strike led to the rest of the season being cancelled with Montreal at 74–40. The Expos never reached the playoffs again.

To which city did Major League Baseball move the Montreal Expos franchise for the 2005 season?

Washington, D.C. got the team, which took the name Nationals. Montreal's owners had considered that very name for their own club back in 1968.

Which feat did Dennis Martínez achieve for the Expos in 1991, only the 13th in major league history?

A perfect game, 27 Dodgers up and 27 down, made the Nicaraguan the first Latin American-born pitcher to throw one. Two days earlier a teammate had lost a no-hitter in the 10th inning.

Which shaggy orange mascot joined the Montreal Expos in 1979 and later switched to hockey's Canadiens?

Youppi, whose name is French for "Yippee!", spent a year in storage before the Canadiens bought him. He was also the first mascot ever thrown out of a major league game.

Why did Montrealers mockingly call Olympic Stadium, the Expos' home from 1977, "The Big Owe"?

Its runaway cost took 30 years to pay off. The name plays on "The Big O", the nickname the stadium earned from the doughnut shape of its roof.

Which catcher nicknamed "the Kid" became the first player to enter the Hall of Fame in an Expos cap?

Gary Carter picked up the nickname at his first Expos spring training. He endeared himself to Montreal by learning French and being one of the team's most accessible players.

Which slugger, the first Expos hero, did Montreal fans nickname "Le Grand Orange"?

Rusty Staub earned the name for his red hair and won Montreal over by learning French. The team's mascot was later made orange in his honour.

Which Expos outfielder nicknamed "the Hawk" handed the Cubs a signed blank contract in 1987?

Andre Dawson wanted off Olympic Stadium's artificial turf, which was punishing his knees. The Cubs filled in $500,000, and he answered with 49 home runs and the MVP award.

Which Expos leadoff man nicknamed "Rock" stole at least 70 bases in six straight seasons from 1981?

Tim Raines also won the 1986 NL batting title, yet had to wait until 2017, his final year of eligibility, to reach the Hall of Fame.

Which Dominican outfielder, famed for hitting pitches outside the zone, leads the Expos in career home runs?

Vladimir Guerrero hit 234 of his 449 homers for Montreal, and once got a base hit on a pitch that bounced before it reached the plate.

Which award did Pedro Martínez win in 1997, the only time an Expos player ever claimed it?

The Cy Young Award came after he posted a 1.90 earned run average. One week after it was announced, Montreal traded him to Boston in another salary purge.

Which future Hall of Fame pitcher did the Expos trade to Seattle in 1989 to land Mark Langston?

Randy Johnson reached the Hall of Fame in 2015. Langston and the Expos collapsed that August, and he left as a free agent after the season.

Which Expos manager, promoted in 1992, became the first Dominican-born skipper in major league history?

Felipe Alou had worked for the organization since 1976 as a coach and minor league manager. He went on to manage 1,409 Expos games, more than anyone else.

Which family liquor empire made the fortune of Charles Bronfman, the Montreal Expos' founding owner?

Seagram's heir chaired the club from 1968. He threatened to move his family and company out of Quebec if the Parti Québécois won the 1976 election, then stayed when it did.

Which team did the Expos face in both their first game in 1969 and their last in 2004?

The New York Mets lost that first game 11–10 at Shea Stadium, then won the finale 8–1 in the same ballpark 35 years later.

Which small ballpark, meant as a temporary home, hosted the Montreal Expos from 1969 through 1976?

Jarry Park was a 3,000-seat community field hurriedly expanded for the big leagues. Its open grandstands left everyone exposed to Montreal's cold spring weather.

Which visiting manager's complaint got the Expos' mascot ejected from a 22-inning game in 1989?

Tommy Lasorda objected when the mascot paraded on top of the visitors' dugout in the 11th inning. The Dodgers went on to win 1–0 in the longest game in Expos history.

Which Dodgers outfielder's ninth-inning home run ended the Expos' only playoff run in October 1981?

Rick Monday hit it with two out in the deciding fifth game, one win short of the World Series. Montreal fans have called the day Blue Monday ever since.

In French-language Expos broadcasts, which pitch was called a "balle-papillon", literally a butterfly ball?

Knuckleball became "butterfly ball" in a French glossary built with Expos broadcasters Jacques Doucet and Claude Raymond, which also gave fans "coup de circuit" for a home run.

Which future Red Sox manager caught the final out when the Expos clinched their only playoff berth in 1981?

Terry Francona gloved a fly ball hit by slugger Dave Kingman to seal a 5–4 win. Montreal had won 11 of its last 15 games to finish half a game ahead of St. Louis.

Which ex-Expos pitcher nicknamed "Spaceman" ran for U.S. president on the satirical Rhinoceros Party ticket?

Bill Lee promised to bulldoze the Rocky Mountains so Alberta could get more sunlight. The Expos had released him in 1982 after he staged a one-game walkout over a friend's dismissal.

Which city joined the National League as an expansion team alongside Montreal for the 1969 season?

San Diego and Montreal each paid US$10 million to join, and the two newcomers tied for the league's worst record that first year at 52–110.

In which Caribbean city did the Expos play 22 "home" games in each of their final two seasons?

San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium hosted the games in 2003 and 2004. Major League Baseball, which owned the club by then, was looking for extra revenue.

Which defending World Series champions did the Expos beat in 1981 for their only playoff series victory?

The Phillies fell 3–0 in the deciding fifth game, when Montreal's ace outpitched Hall of Famer Carlton with a complete-game shutout.

Which pitcher, the only ten-year veteran to spend his whole career as an Expo, holds the club wins record?

Steve Rogers won 158 games for Montreal between 1973 and 1985. He never reached 20 in a season, peaking at 19 in 1982, when he led the National League in earned run average.

In 1982, Montreal's Olympic Stadium hosted which showcase for the first time outside the United States?

The All-Star Game drew 59,057 fans and put four Expos in the National League's starting lineup. One historian later wrote that baseball in Montreal peaked that night.

Which future Supreme Court justice's 1995 ruling ended the stoppage that sank the Expos' best season?

Sonia Sotomayor was a federal judge when her order ended the dispute after eight months. The Expos then sold off their best players in a fire sale that left Montreal fans livid.

At the Expos' first ballpark, a 495-foot Willie Stargell home run in 1969 landed in what beyond right field?

A swimming pool in the neighbouring city park caught the ball, and locals took to calling it Willie's pool. The idea of a ballpark pool was later copied at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Which colour were the Montreal Expos' original road uniforms, revived by the Nationals for a 2019 tribute?

Powder blue road uniforms were worn with a tricolour cap of white, blue and red panels. The Nationals put on the 1969 look to mark the franchise's 50th anniversary.

Which team did Jeffrey Loria buy in 2002 right after selling the Expos to Major League Baseball?

The Florida Marlins deal was eased by a $38.5 million interest-free loan from MLB. Loria took nearly everything of value with him, including the Expos' computers and scouting reports.

Which team was to be eliminated with the Expos when baseball's owners voted for contraction in 2001?

The Minnesota Twins were saved when a legal challenge forced MLB to honour their stadium lease. The Expos survived too, because the league needed an even number of teams.

Which fabric formed the orange roof that reached Olympic Stadium in 1987, a decade behind schedule?

Kevlar sheeting made up the 66-tonne roof, which was opened only 88 times in about four years. After a windstorm ripped it in 1991, it was kept closed at all times.

Nicaraguan-born Expos pitcher Dennis Martínez was known throughout baseball by which Spanish nickname?

El Presidente was the first Nicaraguan to play in the majors. Managua's national ballpark carried his name from 1998 until the government removed it in 2022.

The Montreal Expos' logo forms a large "M" out of which two stylized lowercase letters?

The letters e and b stand for Expos and baseball, and together they form the M for Montreal.

Which Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer spent 14 years calling Expos games alongside broadcaster Dave Van Horne?

Duke Snider shared the booth with Van Horne, who was hired for the Expos' first season in 1969 and stayed until 2000.

What forced the Expos to play their last 13 home games of 1991 in their opponents' ballparks?

A fallen concrete beam of about 55 tons landed on a walkway outside Olympic Stadium that September. Nobody was hurt, but the building stayed shut until engineers declared it safe.

Which Expos pitcher threw a no-hitter in only the ninth game the franchise ever played, in April 1969?

Bill Stoneman threw a second no-hitter in 1972, the first ever pitched in a major league game outside the United States.

Which manager, nicknamed the "Little General", led the Expos through their first seven seasons?

Gene Mauch won more games than any other manager who never captured a pennant. His 1982 and 1986 Angels each fell one win short of the World Series.

Which Hall of Fame manager guided the Expos to their first winning season in 1979 but was fired late in 1981?

Dick Williams had already won back-to-back World Series with Oakland. Montreal replaced him with scouting director Jim Fanning, who steered the club into the playoffs weeks later.

Which pitcher won 18 games in 1970 to become the first Expos player named NL Rookie of the Year?

Carl Morton went 18–11 for a second-year club that lost 89 games.

Which Great Lakes city was rumoured to get Montreal's franchise in 1968 while the Expos had no ballpark?

Buffalo had War Memorial Stadium ready, and the league's owners were growing uneasy. Montreal's mayor saved the bid by showing the league president a small community field he promised to expand.

Which second baseman did the Expos send to the Dodgers in 1993 in exchange for prospect Pedro Martínez?

Delino DeShields was an established regular, so Montreal's press attacked the deal as a move to save money. The pitcher they got back became one of the best in baseball.

Which executive became baseball's first Hispanic general manager when MLB hired him to run the Expos in 2002?

Omar Minaya was hired just 72 hours before spring training and found only six other employees left in baseball operations.

Which third baseman, an Expo from 1980 to 1992, was named the first captain in club history?

Tim Wallach, nicknamed Eli, was given the captaincy before the 1991 season after winning three Gold Gloves at third base for Montreal.

Which British Columbia-born Expos outfielder grew up dreaming of a career as an NHL goaltender?

Larry Walker played street hockey with future Hall of Famer Cam Neely and only occasionally picked up a bat. Montreal let him leave as a free agent after the 1994 season.

Which Expos centre fielder led the NL in stolen bases in 1991 and 1992, then won a title with Atlanta?

Marquis Grissom was seen as a prospect both as a pitcher and an outfielder until the Expos made him a full-time position player. He was traded away in the fire sale after the 1994 season.