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canadianman29 · 09-24-2010, 11:07 AM

Pearson Cup Exhibition Game, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Montreal Expos.
July 9
Pre-Game
The crowd waited in breathless anticipation, it was noon, and we had to start letting people in at eight in the morning, as the press of people continued to mount. The stadium was full to the brim, with 44,000 people by 8:10. We charged our usual ticket prices, but made it known that monetary donations would also be collected from the crowd before the first pitch. A low murmur rippled through the throng as the players continued their warm-ups on the field. Each teams All-Stars had rushed back all the way from Los Angeles to be a part of the festivities, they all wanted to see for themselves the young man that had taken a hold of the imagination of the Canadian people.
At exactly 12:05 pm the voices were silenced by the call to rise and stand as our newly minted national anthem, O Canada was performed. When the anthem was sung, the crowd did not take their seats, but remained standing, knowing that next would be the first pitch. Several people had various Blue Jays (and a few Expos) related signs, but most had signs with slogans such as "You can do it, Terry!" and other such things written on them. Everyone stood waiting, as a wooden ramp was brought out of the Jays clubhouse, and when Terry ran out of the club house onto the field the crowd erupted in applause for the young man, Terry Fox.
Terry walked up to the microphone, and cleared his voice. In his slightly hurried way he recounted his story, how he had been struck with cancer and lost his leg, but determined to not give up, and to fight it and not let it hobble him. He spoke of his dream to run across Canada, birthed in his mind shortly after he lost his leg, as he read an article about a man with one leg, who had learned to run. He spoke once again of his desire not to be a celebrity or idol, and spoke of his dream that cancer could one day be defeated, and that if every Canadian would give just one dollar of their money to his run, he could raise $22 million for cancer research. He then threw the first pitch of the game, straight and true into the glove of Biff Pocoroba, and the crowd erupted in thunderous applause. Since we had collected gate receipts four hours earlier, we sent All-Star hurler Dave Stieb to the mound to present Terry with a cheque for $88,000 dollar, the amount we had made at the gate. We sent ushers through the crowd to collect donations during the game as well. Terry walked back off the field to another standing ovation...he would sit in the Jays dugout during the game.
Final Score: Toronto 10, Montreal 5!
Aftermath
Toronto wins the first ever Pearson Cup Exhibition Game, and representatives of both team present Terry Fox with another $60,000 collected from the crowd during the game, bringing the game's total donation to $148,000.

09-24-2010, 11:07 AM	#38
canadianman29 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 204	Pearson Cup Exhibition Game, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Montreal Expos. July 9 Pre-Game The crowd waited in breathless anticipation, it was noon, and we had to start letting people in at eight in the morning, as the press of people continued to mount. The stadium was full to the brim, with 44,000 people by 8:10. We charged our usual ticket prices, but made it known that monetary donations would also be collected from the crowd before the first pitch. A low murmur rippled through the throng as the players continued their warm-ups on the field. Each teams All-Stars had rushed back all the way from Los Angeles to be a part of the festivities, they all wanted to see for themselves the young man that had taken a hold of the imagination of the Canadian people. At exactly 12:05 pm the voices were silenced by the call to rise and stand as our newly minted national anthem, O Canada was performed. When the anthem was sung, the crowd did not take their seats, but remained standing, knowing that next would be the first pitch. Several people had various Blue Jays (and a few Expos) related signs, but most had signs with slogans such as "You can do it, Terry!" and other such things written on them. Everyone stood waiting, as a wooden ramp was brought out of the Jays clubhouse, and when Terry ran out of the club house onto the field the crowd erupted in applause for the young man, Terry Fox. Terry walked up to the microphone, and cleared his voice. In his slightly hurried way he recounted his story, how he had been struck with cancer and lost his leg, but determined to not give up, and to fight it and not let it hobble him. He spoke of his dream to run across Canada, birthed in his mind shortly after he lost his leg, as he read an article about a man with one leg, who had learned to run. He spoke once again of his desire not to be a celebrity or idol, and spoke of his dream that cancer could one day be defeated, and that if every Canadian would give just one dollar of their money to his run, he could raise $22 million for cancer research. He then threw the first pitch of the game, straight and true into the glove of Biff Pocoroba, and the crowd erupted in thunderous applause. Since we had collected gate receipts four hours earlier, we sent All-Star hurler Dave Stieb to the mound to present Terry with a cheque for $88,000 dollar, the amount we had made at the gate. We sent ushers through the crowd to collect donations during the game as well. Terry walked back off the field to another standing ovation...he would sit in the Jays dugout during the game. Final Score: Toronto 10, Montreal 5! Aftermath Toronto wins the first ever Pearson Cup Exhibition Game, and representatives of both team present Terry Fox with another $60,000 collected from the crowd during the game, bringing the game's total donation to $148,000.