Montreal Expos Greatest Moments

Expos: 11 Mets: 10 (April 8, 1969): The Montreal Expos won their first game in franchise history against the eventual World Champion Mets. Rusty Staub, pitcher Dan McGinn, and Coco Laboy homered in the victory. The Mets made it exciting with a four run 9th inning, but the Expos held on for the win. They finished 1969 with a 52-110 record.


Bill Stoneman throws first no-hitter (October 2, 1972): Bill Stoneman not only threw the first no-hitter in Expos history, but the first one outside of the United States. Stoneman’s control left him that day as he walked 7. However, he did strikeout 9 in the 7-0 victory.

Gary Carter’s 3 home run game (April 20, 1977): Hall of Famer Gary Carter was a one man show against the Pirates. He hit three homers and drove in 4 in an 8-6 loss to Pittsburgh. All three came off of starter Jim Rooker.

Ross Grimsley wins 20 (October 1, 1978): Ross Grimsley defeated the St Louis Cardinals 5-1 to win his 20th game of the 1978 season. Grimsley made the All-Star team and finished 7th in Cy Young balloting that season. He is the only pitcher to win 20 for the Expos/Nationals franchise.

Bill Gullickson strikesout 18 Cubs (September 10, 1980): By 1980, the Expos emerged as contenders in the NL East. They had a strong core of young players including pitcher Bill Gullickson. On September 10, Gullickson beat the Cubs 4-2 while striking out 18 batters. The Expos finished second to the World Champion Phillies that season. Gullickson enjoyed a successful major league career.

Expos advance to NLCS (October 11, 1981): The 1981 strike led to an extra playoff round in which first and second half division winners faced off for the right to play in the LCS. In the NL East, Montreal battled the World Champion Phillies for five games in the Divisional Series. Montreal won Game 5 behind Steve Rogers by a score of 3-0. It remains the only postseason series victory for the Expos/Nationals. Montreal lost the NLCS to the Dodgers.

Pete Rose gets 4000 hit (April 13, 1984): Only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb reached 4000 hits. Interestingly, Rose got his 4000th hit as a member of the Expos. He is best known for his days as a Red or Phillie. Montreal beat Philadelphia 5-1 that day. Rose did not remain an Expo for long. He soon took over as player/manager in Cincinnati.

Dennis Martinez perfect game (July 28, 1991): Dennis Martinez and his Dodger counterpart, Mike Morgan, hooked up on July 28, 1991. Morgan allowed no earned runs, but lost 2-0 because Martinez was perfect. El Presidente struck out 5 Dodgers and allowed no base runners.

Best Record in Baseball (1994): The 1994 Montreal Expos had the best record in baseball when the season ended. Unfortunately, the players and owners spat cancelled the postseason. As a result, the best team in franchise history did not get a chance to play for something. The team was subsequently broken up. Failed politicians and squabbling between the team and province of Quebec eventually led to the Expos moving to Washington D.C.

Pedro is perfect (June 3, 1995): Pedro Martinez was unhittable one June game in 1995. The Padres boasting a lineup that included Tony Gwynn could not get on base. However, the Expos could not score on Joey Hamilton either. Pedro took perfection into extra innings. With no one out, Bip Roberts breaks up the perfecto with a double. The Expos beat the Padres 1-0.

Top 10 Red Sox Moments

The Red Sox win the first World Series (1903): The Red Sox, known as the Americans at the time, defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in eight games to capture their first championship in the first World Series. In 1903, it was a best five-of-nine. The series is generally considered the wildest fall classic ever played and featured Honus Wagner and Cy Young. The Americans won the eighth game 3-0 behind Bill Dinneen to clinch the series.


Sox score two in the 10th to win the World Series (October 16, 1912): Boston and the New York Giants battled to Game 8 in the 1912 World Series. Although it was a best-of-seven, the teams tied Game 2 forcing the extra game. In Game 8, the Sox and Giants ended regulation tied at 1. In the 10th, New York scored to take a 2-1 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, Giants centerfielder Fred Snodgrass dropped an easy fly allowing Clyde Engel to reach second. After a fly ball advanced Engel to third and a walk, Tris Speaker popped up. No one made the play. Speaker promptly singled in the tying run off Christy Mathewson. The Giants intentionally loaded the bases to set up a force play at every base. Larry Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to right to end the World Series.

Ted Williams hits .406 (1941): Ted Williams was at .400 and could have taken the last day of the season off. Instead, he demanded to play in a doubleheader. The Splendid Splinter went 6 for 8 on last day to raise his average to .406. No player has hit .400 since.

Ted Williams homers in his last at bat (September 28, 1960): Ted Williams is one of 41 men to homer in a final at bat. However, there was only one Ted Williams. On a chilly Boston day, in another forgettable Red Sox season, Williams launched one 440 feet.

Yaz wins triple crown (1967): Carl Yastrzemski had the unenviable job of replacing Ted Williams. In 1967, it all came together. He won the triple crown and Boston enjoyed “an impossible dream” season. Whenever the Sox needed a big hit or big play, Yaz came through. For the year, Yastrzemski hit .326 with 44 home runs and 121 runs batted in. In the World Series, he chipped in a .400 average with three more homers. Carl Yastrzemski is the last player to win the triple crown.

The Impossible Dream (1967): The summer of 1967 witnessed one of the craziest pennant races in history. At the end of the season, four teams finished within three games of each other. The Tigers loss in the second game of a double header to California clinched the pennant. Boston battled the Cardinals to a seventh game, but could not defeat the invincible Bob Gibson in a Game 7.

The Fisk home run (October 21, 1975 Game 6 World Series): The Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds played in perhaps the greatest World Series in history. Carlton Fisk ended the greatest game in that series with a home run. The Reds needed one win to clinch their first title since 1940. They led 6-3 in the 8th when Bernie Carbo tied it with a three run home run. That sent the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 12th, Fisk hit a fly ball off the foul pole to win the game. The camera focused on Fisk as the cameraman tried to steer clear of a large rat that surprised him. The end result was the iconic shot of Fisk willing the ball fair. Despite the dramatics, Boston lost Game 7 to the Big Red Machine. Nearly forty years later, Fisk jokes the Red Sox won that series three games to four.

Dave Henderson (October 12, 1986 Game 5 ALCS): The Angels led the Red Sox three-games-to-one in the American League Championship Series. In Game 5, the Angels took a 5-2 lead into the 9th. Mike Witt got into trouble surrendering a two-run homer to Don Baylor. He was replaced by Gary Lucas who hit Rich Gedman. California turned to their elite closer Donnie Moore to close out the series. Dave Henderson capped the rally with a two-out, two-strike two-run shot off Moore to give the Sox the lead. California tied the game, but Boston won in extra innings. Henderson’s rip doomed the Angels. They never recovered and Boston won the pennant.

The Idiots Comeback (2004): The Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the 2004 American League Championship Series. No team had ever come back to win a best-of-seven after trailing 3-0. The self-proclaimed “idiots” decided to make history. David Ortiz provided major hits to win Games 4 and 5 and send the series back to New York. Curt Schilling won Game 6 without an ankle. Television cameras transfixed on the blood oozing out of his sock. In Game 7, Johnny Damon’s grand slam set the tone for the game and the Sox rolled. It was their first pennant since 1986.

Curse Reversed (October 27, 2004 Game 4 World Series): Boston faced a formidable Cardinal team in the World Series. The Sox mojo overwhelmed St. Louis. They won a slugfest 11-9 in Game 1. Schilling returned with his bloody sock to win Game 2. Pedro Martinez pitched his final game in a Sox uniform winning Game 3. Derek Lowe closed out the Cardinals 3-0 to complete the sweep. The victory ended 86 years of frustration which was summed up as “The Curse of the Bambino.” The Red Sox had not won a World Series since shipping Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The idiots reversed the curse.