The Montreal Expos play their first-ever home game in 1969

[@brianwells456comcast]

Expos won 8-7 over the Cardinals.Joe Torre had a double and homer and Curt Flood went 4 for 5 with a double for the Cardinals.Expos Mack Jones drove in 5 runs with a homer and triple.29,184 in attendance.The game only lasted 2:16!

[@danroux4010]

Mack Jones homerun in that game was the first ever major league home run hit in Canada. Jones became so popular that the left field bleachers at Jarry Park became known as Jonesville. In his first year with the Expos he hit for .270 with 22 homers and 79 RBI.

[@gordsnieder4046]

Because no endless fast food, monster truck and gambling commercials to ruin the experience.

[@pinkalgebra]

Those beautiful uniforms.

[@wilrobles9824]

Yes.

[@RCmack]

They were great uniforms, but the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates uniforms were the best!

[@jeffthewhiff]

@Christopher Hagee Yes, they had great uniforms and I also liked the royal blue helmets they wore as well!

[@jeffthewhiff]

@Christopher Hagee Well, I am not really sure, but the only reason I can think of would be because of the Bicentennial in 1976, but that would be unlikely since that was an American celebration.

[@talksmoke1190]

@Christopher Hagee the montreal expos have nothing to do with that other team.

[@deedonnerramone4757]

Had the good fortune to see one game at Jarry Park. It was fun. Got to talk to former Detroit Tiger Mickey Lolich, then a New York Met. Next to me sat a kind French Canadian who bought a round of Labatt's Blue. It was a Sunday game, good times!! Miss the Expos!

[@bozsongz3652]

@Christopher Hagee I know Mr. Lolich was great in his day, BUT... I saw him at Shea that year, and he stunk up the place with his over-weight aging body. He couldn't pitch his way out of a paper bag. I was so pissed when they traded him to Detroit!

[@bozsongz3652]

@Christopher Hagee Yeah, but he stunk when he was in NY.

[@bozsongz3652]

@Christopher Hagee Look, he was a great pitcher. My problem is with the sh*tty ownership with the Mets. I still do. They traded a great player for a former great player. Bye.

[@quiricomazarin476]

Labatt blue that skunky crap....O'Keefe please or Molson.

[@ralphmoore7812]

Those are really nice uniforms. Still wish the expos were a mlb team.

[@brianwood9108]

Bring them back! As a Nationals fan, I'd love to remove the guilt of having a "stolen" team. Great baseball city with its own history just like DC.

[@rockvilleraven]

DC stole the Wizards, Washington Football Team, and the Expos

[@westhoodqualzini7884]

It was not a great baseball city. Truth hurts. You don’t show up and show no support you lose your team. Same thing is going to happen to Oakland. That’s capitalism

[@144wychwood]

@@westhoodqualzini7884 It was at one point. That lousy toilet bowl of a stadium didn't help. To borrow Shaquille O'Neil term it was a horrawful place to watch baseball. I miss MLB in Montreal but I don't believe baseball would work nowadays.

[@westhoodqualzini7884]

@@144wychwood ask Oakland, Miami, Tampa bay they’ll give you the same excuses plus some. But somebody has to lose a team. They don’t care about baseball there it’s a hockey city. You can’t force something that doesn’t exist and they had their chance now it’s somebody else’s turn

[@Marth66666]

@@westhoodqualzini7884yeah you’re right but I think it COULD have been a major baseball city. It’s too late now, but if expos win it in 94, we wouldn’t be talking on this video right now

[@The_Husband_of_Jane_Lane]

Rest in peace Rusty Staub, one of the original members of Les Expos de Montréal.

[@bobnagel6449]

Le grand Orange.

[@MinecraftGuy5145]

The first MLB game in Canada

[@guardian08527]

Loved the uniforms.

[@johnq.public4252]

When baseball expands, they must put a team back in Montreal called the Expos with those retro uniforms in a ballpark called Rusty Staub Stadium. "Le Grande Orange"

[@quiricomazarin476]

Have a Orange Julius like the big orange concrete one off of decarie blvd ....in the stadium refreshment area.

[@SirManfly]

Jarre Park was such a cool old park ! A dump by today's standard but a great place to watch a game !!

[@gordsnieder4046]

Far better than Excruciation Stadium in TO!!

[@MrBeyondbelief]

And it was the original splash hit stadium!! There was a pool behind right field fence but it took a big blast to reach the pool. Willie "POPS" Stargell did it once!!

[@joewells4823]

To the powers that be: PLEASE bring baseball back to MTL! #NosAmours #Expos #BringThemBack

[@porchofgeese_crockpot]

@Lewis 970 it was Jeff Loria who moved them.

[@bradleyholt9805]

@Lewis 970 They had a poor product, plus times have changed. But, they would have to get a covered park because of the cold in the early and playoff times of the year.

[@dortega12]

Lewis 970 i agree with everything but in montreal people speck English.

[@RCmack]

There's a good chance MLB will be coming back to Montreal. But Montreal needs a new stadium! Olympic Stadium is not a good baseball stadium!

[@MrRp25]

Any guarantees more that 4000 will show up?

[@jeffthewhiff]

It is very cool to have footage like this of the Expos' first game! I think they would still be in Montreal if they had a better ballpark to play in. Many people said that Olympic Stadium was the worst park in the majors at the time.

[@mptr1783]

Our family was vacationing in Vermont during the Summer of '70 and we went to Jarry Park to see the SF Giants. Willie Mays, McCovey & Bobby Bonds. Unreal. But what I remember most was getting french fries with vinegar lol

[@quiricomazarin476]

Vacationing from where?

[@mptr1783]

@@quiricomazarin476 Highgate Springs VT

[@quiricomazarin476]

@@mptr1783 Plattsburgh/ ausable chasm ~ river camper here from New France..... I miss Vermont ( burlington ). Met Maria von Trapp there.

[@TheLocalLt]

@@quiricomazarin476 yes I believe the von Trapps still live around Stowe, VT

[@Tsnore]

I hope baseball can return to Montreal someday.

[@marc_leblanc]

I sure miss watching them. I hope they come back eventually.

[@robertzimmerman404]

Saw Willie Stargell hit 3 home runs vs Expos as part of a doubleheader. I think 2 went into the swimming pool.

[@Shindler39]

Outstanding video of the Montreal Expos first game in Montreal.

[@SirManfly]

I just wish there was more of it !

[@rayking9781]

Looks like a High School field......great footage and interesting to see.

[@daboys1215]

Ray King, The field was bad. it wasn't a stadium. it was literally a neighborhood park. Plus it was April in Montreal. The ground was still partially frozen. They were still clearing snow from the not yet finished stands before the game.

[@davidlafleche1142]

Jarry Park was actually one of the best "temporary" stadiums. It was certainly better than Colt Stadium (Houston), and the aptly-named Sick's Stadium (Seattle).

[@deejayferguson5015]

Looks like a high school baseball field

[@daboys1215]

+Dee Jay Ferguson: It was literally a neighborhood park. It wasn't a stadium.

[@chuckstemm7235]

Or the fairgrounds lol

[@davidlafleche1142]

Still better than Olympic Stadium.

[@SirManfly]

@@davidlafleche1142 anything is better than The Big Owe!! Are Montrealers STILL paying for that dump to this day?

[@davidlafleche1142]

@@SirManfly Montreal did pay off the bonds...I think. But they're still paying millions in upkeep...for a stadium nobody wants...because it would cost millions to tear it down. That's Socialism for you!

[@DavyBoy007]

RIP Bob Bailey

[@TheGeoScholar]

And RIP Rusty Staub, Le Grand Orange.

[@stevezimmerman2334]

That Stadium looked so tiny...Expos had cool looking unis

[@icm1970]

I wonder if the CBC kept any colour videotapes of games played at Jarry Park (1969-1976). There is certainly plenty of such footage from their days at Olympic Stadium, but it would be neat to see if any is still left from the Jarry Park era.

[@schmitty139]

I love Jary Park footage and the Expos. Looking at today's stadiums 🏟 and fields..It certainly looks like a cow pasture.

[@Colewright6000]

I miss them so much 🥺

[@armandrodriguez8501]

They dress better to go to the ballpark than we dress today to fly.

[@billymatthews7346]

Saw the Expos play the Braves in a twi-night double header at Atlanta Stadium in 1972...

[@kentduryea7109]

Footage of this game is of outstanding quality. Where's the rest of it? It's gotta be somewhere because of this being proof. Find and post the entire game. I'd rather watch an Expos game from the far away past than anything going on today in MLB.

[@ccjjpp1966]

Hard to believe that this was a major league ballpark for several years until Olympic Stadium was built.

[@samuelattias1410]

The 1994 World Series Champions

[@michaelyoungstrom9412]

This is pretty cool. I miss the Expos and I wish they would come back, and this is coming from a Cardinals fan. By the way is that Gibson pitching at 0:43?

[@daboys1215]

Michael Youngstrom, No. It was Nelson Briles for the Cardinals vs Larry Jaster for the Expos.

[@chessmentor63]

Was that #10 Rusty Staub who hit that double? A fan was cheering for Rusty right before hit. I recognize his gait from when he was with the Mets a few years later. Man he was slow, but otherwise clutch

[@40intrepid]

"Trusty Rusty"! A Tigers fan favorite in the seventies too, he was the best DH the team ever had IMO.

[@snake9911]

I was only 6 years old when they started playing. What was the name of that stadium? Could someone please let me know?

[@daboys1215]

Snake99, Jarry Park

[@privatepenguin3137]

The 2019 World Champions! Great way to celebrate their 50th Anniversary Season!

[@talksmoke1190]

Montreal does not accept that other team and have never won the world series.

[@carseye1219]

Us older guys miss strange things about the old days. Don't know why but I used to like clear outfield fences you could see through. Nothing like watching a home run bounce.

[@tomekk503]

They should come back like the Nordic from QC

[@lloyd63]

jarry Park or parc Jarry

[@porchofgeese_crockpot]

Some want the Soviet Union back, Others Yugoslavia. But We want the Expos back.

[@bobnagel6449]

The cold war was something we could wrap our heads around.

[@robparadise6099]

Excellent!

[@johnperrigo6474]

What, no annoying background blather from the public address announcer, bad ill-timed music to get the crowd going, or endless commercials for crap people don't need? Gosh, how boring and unnatural.

[@bdwyblu]

Amazing

[@marcopiscina4848]

What fond memories! My brother and I would buy a loaf of bread, eat it on the way to Parc Jarry......and purchase 1.00 seats in the bleachers...."Jonesville"!

[@michaelking3142]

50 Years!

[@talksmoke1190]

35 years

[@talksmoke1190]

Funny how everyone made fun of the expos uniform, logo and cap...and now you love it.

[@MARILYN19481]

Does a copy of the entire first game against the Mets in New York exist or their first home game?

[@pierrelevasseur2701]

I've been looking for these for a long time but never found anything. There's many games you can buy for $2 on iTunes but mainly no-hitters and World Series games. They're sold under the banner of Baseball's Best and although they do have the Marlins' first ever game, no Expos.

[@andrewpadaetz5549]

There's clips of the first game vs. the Mets on You Tube from the CBC won by Montreal 11-10. Dan McGinn can always tell his grandkids he hit the first Expos homer off a future HOFer (Seaver) in that game.

[@Loyster14]

Jerry Park 1st game against the Mets?

[@talksmoke1190]

Interesting the expos had their dugout on the third base side

[@thierrylafronde434]

I was there....had skipped my classes ....I was seated in the bleachers (eventually called Jonesville) ...my ticket costed me 1$ !

[@terryvlunsford1610]

Jarry Park looked like the way single A ball stadiums look today.

[@wildwest1]

Park Jarry.

[@ace942]

Who won that first game and what was the score?

[@maxand.1462]

the Montreal Expos defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7

[@ace942]

Thanks.

[@mrceleb2006]

CBC stopped televising live Expos games after the 1988 season.

[@my3dviews]

Games were on TSN after that.

[@mrceleb2006]

Not to mention CTV

[@marksymbala1193]

Any winos?

[@michaelfitzgerald3467]

Bobby Wine.

[@kencummings953]

The only two current major leaguers I can think of today with connections to Jarry Park are Dusty Baker and Joe West. Not sure if Davey Lopes is still coaching somewhere. Must be an active major leaguer. Announcers like Steve Stone don't count.

[@aarongoldstein7614]

Steve Stone did pitch at Jarry Park while with the Giants in 1972 and during his tenure with the Cubs from 1974-1976.

[@michaelleroy9281]

The first year they were 52-110 same as the Padres

[@MrBeyondbelief]

In stark contrast to the Blue Jays first ever game!!!!

[@Ase8231]

Looks like the Sandlot

[@daboys1215]

+A SE: It was a neighborhood park.

[@TheFaithfulAtheist]

Sorely underrated comment.

[@marcpjoyner]

Love the Expos, always liked their uniforms and logo. But wow, the condition of playing field looks terrible. Chain link fence for the outfield? That stadium is a single A park

[@aboxofbroken8tracks983]

Is it possible for anyone to be charmed by a simpler time, anymore?

[@marcpjoyner]

ABoxOfBroken8Tracks if you're charmed by that field, you are easily charmed

[@daboys1215]

Rogé Selig, It wasn't a stadium.

[@aboxofbroken8tracks983]

@@marcpjoyner It's a nice life being easily charmed. More should try it.

[@marcpjoyner]

ABoxOfBroken8Tracks All I said was it was a Single A Park in a lot of ways, which it is. Maybe AA. There isn’t much of anything charming about it. It’s a dump. Wrigley Field was pretty much a dump too until the last renovation. But Wrigley did have a lot of charm, which has nothing to do with amenities. This stadium in Montreal is without any amenities or charm.

[@thomasjoseph2050]

Looks like a High School field!

[@roberthuot7887]

GO HABS GO!

[@dwelsman]

Not os much into field manicuring back in 1969?

[@bobbypaluga4346]

Jarry Park looked like a cow pasture. Too bad the ownership, and fan support wasn't there. It's easier to fix your problems than to lose your ball club and try and get another.

[@deedonnerramone4757]

The beer was cold, peanuts were tasty and the view was almost as good as Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Great place to see a game.

[@scottdavidson7001]

Bobby Paluga yup

[@pierrelevasseur2701]

Don't forget that this was mid-April 1969. It was cold and snow had just been removed off the field. Any MLB field would look like this under those conditions.

[@kencummings953]

@@pierrelevasseur2701 Actually I've heard it was unsually warm that day for mid April I Montreal. Near seventy degrees or so.

[@pierrelevasseur2701]

I was only 6 years old so I wouldn't remember and I lived two hours drive away. Baseball Reference doesn't show temperature data for that game (with field conditions “unknown”). Being an Expos fan and having read a lot, it is documented that there was snow that had to be taken off the field in the days before the game. Just doing that would likely not leave the field in the best of conditions, whether it was a warm day or not. And the grass wouldn't have a chance to turn green as we see in this video, making it look like a cow pasture. Being curious, I did some research. Environment Canada provides historical data since 1840. That day happened to be the warmest day of the year in Montreal. The max was 21 Celsius (you do the conversion) and low of 8. Time of game start was 1:50 so it probably was 15 or more at that time, not a bad spring day for that part of the world and it had been on much cooler in the previous days.

[@Mario-cv5el]

Canadian victory!!!

[@my3dviews]

When baseball players made thousands of dollars per year. LOL

[@loyaldude10]

look at that old, crude ballpark. Cant believe MLB approved a team to play in it

[@davidlafleche1142]

Jarry Park was decent. It was a lot better than Colt Stadium in Houston. Even worse was Sick's Stadium (yes, that's right) in Seattle: a ballpark that truly lived up to its name.

[@johnhorn3344]

It was a heck of a lot better than Olympic Stadium!

[@vicepresidentmikepence889]

@@johnhorn3344 Olympics stadium was the ugliest stadium ever

[@bradlafferty6076]

Great turnout for a hockey city

[@todaywithtbd1817]

Looks like a minor league stadium.

[@daboys1215]

+Today With TBD: It was worse than that.