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MONTREAL EXPOS
In 1960, Montreal lost its professional baseball team, the Royals. Beginning
in 1962, several businessmen and elected municipal officials launched
a campaign with the National League in the United States for a new franchise.
It was a difficult process, because some Americans opposed the application
from a non-American city.
It took six years, the loss of some investors and the arrival of new partners
before they were successful: on May 27, 1968, Montreal finally won a franchise
and, in a last-minute move, Jarry Park was designated as the team's official
home. All that remained was to find a name for the team. The Voyagers
or the National were two names suggested, but as announced by the team's
President and Executive Director, John McHale, the Expos was the final
choice. This name made it possible to easily identify the team's home
city (the team was nicknamed Nos Amours by sports writers), as
the entire world had heard of Expo 67!
The Expos were loved by many Canadian baseball fans across the country
from the 1970s to the 1990s.
The Montreal-Paris Tower
On
December 10, 1964, Mayor Jean Drapeau unveiled a tower project for Expo
67. To be erected on the eastern tip of Île Sainte-Hélène,
and measuring 325 metres (1066 feet), this tower was a joint endeavour
of the cities of Montreal and Paris, to commemorate the 325th anniversary
of the founding of Montreal. Because of a lack of financial resources,
however, the project was abandoned the following year. The Olympic stadium,
home of today's Expos, strangely resembles this tower...
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