Pearson Cup
| Teams |
|
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Regular season series | 24–19, Blue Jays |
The Pearson Cup was an annual midseason Major League Baseball exhibition game between former Canadian rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos. Named after former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, it was originally created to raise money for minor league baseball in Canada. In later years, it was incorporated into the interleague baseball schedule.
The series began in 1978, and ran until 1986.[1] Due to a strike, no game was played in 1981. In 2003 the series was revived as part of the Blue Jays-Expos interleague rivalry. It continued on into the 2004 season, before the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. The cup is now on display in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Mary's, Ontario.
Results
From 1978–86, the Cup was awarded after a one game exhibition, that had no effect on the major league standings. During the 2003 and 2004 series, the Cup was awarded after a six game set, three in Toronto and three in Montreal. These games did count toward the major league standings and were during the regular season. The 1979 game was abandoned as a tie due to the Expos having to catch an airplane flight, while the 1985 game was abandoned as a tie after 11 innings due to time constraints.[2]
| Season | Date | Location | Winning team | Runs | Losing team | Attendance | Cumulative record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single game scores | |||||||
| 1978 | June 29 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | Montreal | 5–4 | Toronto | 20,221 | Montreal 1–0–(0) |
| 1979 | April 19 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | (tied) | 4–4 | (tied) | 21,564 | Montreal 1–0–(1) |
| 1980 | July 31 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | Montreal | 3–1 | Toronto | 6,731 | Montreal 2–0–(1) |
| 1981 | July 6 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | Cancelled due to players' strike | Montreal 2–0–(1) | |||
| 1982 | Sept. 2 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | Montreal | 7–3 | Toronto | 23,102 | Montreal 3–0–(1) |
| 1983 | May 5 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | Toronto | 7–5 | Montreal | 8,291 | Montreal 3–1–(1) |
| 1984 | May 24 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | Toronto | 2–1 | Montreal | 24,768 | Montreal 3–2–(1) |
| 1985 | May 9 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | (tied) | 2–2 | (tied) | 11,075 | Montreal 3–2–(2) |
| 1986 | April 28 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | Toronto | 5–2 | Montreal | 16,786 | Tied 3–3–(2) |
| Three-game series | |||||||
| Season | Date | Location | Winning team | Games | Result | Average Attendance |
Cumulative record |
| 2003 | June 20–22 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | Toronto | 2–1 | (tied) | 12,782 | Tied 3-3-(3) |
| June 27–29 | SkyDome (Toronto) | Montreal | 2–1 | 31,571 | |||
| 2004 | June 25–27 | SkyDome (Toronto) | Toronto | 2–1 | (tied) | 22,091 | Tied 3-3-(4) |
| July 2–4 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium (San Juan, Puerto Rico) |
Montreal | 2–1 | 8,443 | |||
The All-Canadian Series
The Blue Jays and Expos first played meaningful baseball in the 1997 season with the introduction of interleague play.[3] Originally one game sets, the two teams played home and home series for the first time in 1999. The series was a boost to the paltry attendance numbers at both the Olympic Stadium in Montreal and the SkyDome in Toronto, but failed to become a serious rivalry amongst the players or the fans.[1] Some people attribute this to lack of Canadian players on both teams, while others point to the general malaise of Canadians with Major League Baseball during the late 1990s and early 2000s.[1][4]
Major League Baseball put the final nail in the Series' coffin by playing the final set between the Jays and Expos in San Juan, Puerto Rico instead of Montreal. Major League Baseball's intention to boost attendance by playing in San Juan ended up resulting in lower attendance than the series had attracted in Montreal a year earlier.[5][6][7]
The All-Canadian Series ended after 2004 when the Expos were relocated and became known as the Washington Nationals.[8][9] The Blue Jays won the series 24 games to 19 games, and Toronto also won the most season series (3-2-2).[10]
Here's how the series broke down in number of games won.
- 1997: Expos 2, Blue Jays 1
- 1998: Blue Jays 4, Expos 0
- 1999: Blue Jays 4, Expos 2
- 2000: Blue Jays 4, Expos 2
- 2001: Tie, 3–3
- 2002: Expos 4, Blue Jays 2
- 2003: Tie, 3–3
- 2004: Tie, 3–3
Notes
- Canadian Bill Atkinson was the winning pitcher and scored the winning run for the Expos in the first-ever Pearson Cup game at the Olympic Stadium in 1978.[citation needed]
- Pedro Martinez was the winning pitcher Jun 30, 1997 in the first game of 'The All-Canadian Series' pitching 9 innings, striking out 10, walking one.[11]
References
- ^ a b c O'Connor, Joe (June 28, 2002). "A series without rivals". National Post. p. S1.
- ^ Zawadzki, Edward (2001). The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book , Volume 1. Canada: Dundurn Press Ltd. p. 216. ISBN 9780888822376.
{{cite book}}: line feed character in|title=at position 41 (help) - ^ Shoalts, David (July 1, 1997). "Rivalry could be over before it gets started". The Globe and Mail. p. D10.
- ^ Maloney, Tom (June 16, 2001). "Fans balk at rivalry that died years ago". National Post. p. A19.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (July 5, 2004). "Jays' pen gives Lilly no relief". Toronto Star. p. C4.
- ^ Griffin, Richard (July 4, 2004). "Minaya manages to care". Toronto Star. p. E4.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (July 4, 2004). "Doc cures what ails Jays; Halladay handcuffs Expos to tie series Interleague game draws just 8,831 fans". Toronto Star. p. E4.
- ^ Montgomery, Lori; Heath, Thomas (September 30, 2004). "Baseball's Coming Back to Washington". Washington Post. p. A1.
- ^ Henson, Steve; Schwartz, Emma (September 30, 2004). "Expos Bid Adieu to Montreal". Los Angeles Times. p. D4.
- ^ "Head-to-Head results for Toronto Blue Jays vs. Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals from 1901 to 2010". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR199706300.shtml
External links
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