Long before Andre Dawson wore #10 in the Montréal outfield, #10 belonged to Le Grande Orange — Rusty Staub — an original member of Les Expos.
Though Staub only played three seasons north of the border, he will be inducted this June into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Staub was embraced not just for his reddish-orange hair but also because he learned the French language. Staub played for the Montréal Expos from 1969-1971 and the last half of the 1979 season. The #10 is retired for both Staub and Dawson by the Expos.
Milwaukee Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin (Chatam, ON), long-time left-handed pitcher Rheal Cormier (Moncton, NB), and the 2011 Canadian senior national team will also be inducted in the June ceremony.
Cormier pitched for St. Louis, Boston, Montréal, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati in a career that spanned from 1991-2007. Cormier also pitched for Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the 1988 and 2008 Canadian squads in the Summer Olympics.
For those who deride the Montréal market for baseball should really go back and see the way the original Expos were warmly welcomed to La Belle Province. Expansion teams are by definition cast-offs from other teams. Coming to a new team in a new country with a different primary language, the fans really loved those players, especially those who learned the language. The Florida Marlins haven't seen that kind of love, ever.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is in St. Mary's, Ontario. St. Mary's is just northeast of London and west of Kitchener/Waterloo, not too far from Stratford in southern Ontario.
I loved the Expos when I was a kid, because the Twins were lucky to win 60 games, and the Expos seemed so exotic - being in Canada with that thing on their uniforms. It took me years to realize it was an eM. They broke my heart in '81 when they got ever so close to the World Series. I rekindled that interest when they went on a run before the strike. Since that strike, my interests shifted away from baseball entirely. I just can't get into it again.
Posted by: Tim | February 08, 2012 at 02:19 PM
Did you ever get to an Expos game in Montreal or any other place? I got up to Montreal at the end of the 2002 season. I even got to go on the field and saw an Old Timers Game. I also saw the Expos at Wrigley Field.
Posted by: Chad | February 08, 2012 at 06:32 PM
Missed out. Tried to con my parents into taking me to a Bombers game when in Winnipeg during the 80s. They weren't interested. Game wasn't even on TV.
Posted by: Tim | February 13, 2012 at 02:33 PM
That's too bad. Singing O Canada in public is a secret thrill of mine.
Posted by: Chad | February 13, 2012 at 08:19 PM