Expos/Montreal Baseball History: Montreal has a long baseball history. The Montreal Royals were a minor league team that started playing in 1897, and eventually became the Brooklyn Dodgers AAA team, from 1939 to 1960, after stints with the Philadelphia A’s, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jackie Robinson played for the Royals in 1946, a team that was voted one of the greatest minor league teams of all time. The winningest pitcher in the history of the Royals, was none other than Tommy Lasorda! After the 1960 season, the Royals were moved to Syracuse, and became the Syracuse Chiefs, a minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
In 1969, MLB expanded to four teams. The Seattle Pilots, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and the Expos. Gene Mauch managed the team, after spending years with the Phillies. The Expos weren’t very good that year, going 52-110, but they had some legendary players on their team, with some of the greatest names. Besides Rusty Staub, they had Mudcat Grant, Roy Face, Bill “Stoner” Stoneman, and John Bocabella! Through the years, until they moved to Washington(becoming the Nationals) for the 2005 season, the Expos had their ups and downs. In 1979, under Manager Dick Williams, they posted a 95-65, but missed winning the Eastern Division by two games to the Pirates, hence not making the playoffs. Back then, only two teams in each league made the playoffs. And in 1981, the team made it to the National League Championship Series, facing the Dodgers, after defeating the Phillies in the Division series. The series went to a 5th game, but unfortunately Steve Rogers hung a sinking fastball that Rick Monday blasted over the center field wall, and the Expos went down to defeat. The last season for the Expos was in 2004, when they went 67-95. At the end of the season, Major League Baseball announced that the franchise would be moving to Washington D.C, to become the Nationals.
The Expos have three players in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They are Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Tim Raines. And although he never won a World Series, many experts feel Gene Mauch should be in, especially with all the contributions he made to baseball. And yes, in the 1984 season, Pete Rose played briefly for the Expos, before being traded back to the Reds!
