Pearson Cup
Encyclopedia
The Pearson Cup was an annual mid-season Major League Baseball
exhibition game between former Canadian
rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays
and the 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 , and ran for eight more seasons until . Due to a strike, no game was played in . In the series was revived as part of the Blue Jays-Expos interleague rivalry. It continued on into the 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.
in Montreal and the SkyDome
in Toronto, but failed to become a serious rivalry amongst the players or the fans. 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.
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.
The All-Canadian Series ended after when the Expos were relocated and became known as the Washington Nationals
. The Blue Jays won the series 24 games to 19 games, and Toronto also won the most season series (3-2-2).
Here's how the series broke down in number of games won.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
exhibition game between former Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
and the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
. Named after former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
, 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 , and ran for eight more seasons until . Due to a strike, no game was played in . In the series was revived as part of the Blue Jays-Expos interleague rivalry. It continued on into the season, before the Expos moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and became the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
. The cup is now on display in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museums commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.-History:...
in St. Mary's, Ontario.
Results
From 1978-1986 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.| Season | Date | Location | Winning team | Runs | Losing team | Attendance | Cumulative record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single game scores | |||||||
| June 29 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) Olympic Stadium (Montreal) The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics... |
Montreal | 5–4 | Toronto | 20,221 | Montreal 1-0-(0) | |
| April 19 | Exhibition Stadium Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.... (Toronto) |
(tied) | 4–4 | (tied) | 21,564 | Montreal 1-0-(1) | |
| July 31 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | Montreal | 3–1 | Toronto | 6,731 | Montreal 2-0-(1) | |
| July 6 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | Cancelled due to Players' strike | Montreal 2-0-(1) | ||||
| Sept. 2 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | Montreal | 7–3 | Toronto | 23,102 | Montreal 3-0-(1) | |
| May 5 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | Toronto | 7–5 | Montreal | 8,291 | Montreal 3-1-(1) | |
| May 24 | Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) | Toronto | 2–1 | Montreal | 24,768 | Montreal 3-2-(1) | |
| May 9 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) | (tied) | 2–2 | (tied) | 11,075 | Montreal 3-2-(2) | |
| 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 |
| June 20–22 | Olympic Stadium (Montreal) Olympic Stadium (Montreal) The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics... |
Toronto | 2–1 | (tied) | 12,782 | Tied 3-3-(3) | |
| June 27–29 | SkyDome (Toronto) | Montreal | 2–1 | 31,571 | |||
| June 25–27 | SkyDome (Toronto) | Toronto | 2–1 | (tied) | 22,091 | Tied 3-3-(4) | |
| July 2–4 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium is a baseball park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, operated by the municipal government of the city of San Juan. Its name honors the first Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues, Hiram Bithorn, who first played with the Chicago Cubs in 1942... (San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of... ) |
Montreal | 2–1 | 8,443 | |||
The All-Canadian Series
The Blue Jays and Expos first played meaningful baseball in the season with the introduction of interleague play. Originally one game sets, the two teams played home and home series for the first time in . The series was a boost to the paltry attendance numbers at both the Olympic StadiumOlympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
in Montreal and the SkyDome
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
in Toronto, but failed to become a serious rivalry amongst the players or the fans. 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.
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
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
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.
The All-Canadian Series ended after when the Expos were relocated and became known as the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
. The Blue Jays won the series 24 games to 19 games, and Toronto also won the most season series (3-2-2).
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
External links
- http://www.canadianbaseballnews.com/MonExpos/PearsonCup.html