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Jarry Park / Montreal Expos
/ 1969-1976
Jarry Park was a small, single-deck ballpark originally constructed as a
temporary stadium -- one that ended up being used seven
seasons as the first home of the Montreal Expos. As such, it
was the site of the first MLB regular-season game played
outside of the United States on April 14, 1969, in a game that
the Expos won 8-7 over the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a great
beginning to MLB baseball in Montreal: over 29,000 eager fans
crammed a stadium that held only 28,000, oblivious to the fact
that the ballpark wasn't completed -- folding chairs were used
instead of bleacher seats, which were still on the way. Fans
stood on big piles of snow outside the second eight-foot
right-field outfield fence and watched the game for free.
Le Parc Jarry was adjacent to a Montreal municipal
swimming pool, which sat beyond the right0field fence, and occasionally a mighty blast would end up in
the pool beyond the right-field fence. This was the case in
that first season, when Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh
Pirates slugged a home run over the right-field fence and into
the splash.
Jarry Park also has the distinction of serving as the home of
both a MLB team and a Class AAA team in a single season. In
late May of 1970, the Buffalo Bisons (Class AAA; International
League) franchise was taken over by the league after ownership
difficulties, and the team played in a variety of ballparks as
the Winnipeg Whips, including 18 home games on 13 dates in
Jarry Park, as well as Norfolk and Richmond. The Whips played
all of its home games in Winnipeg in 1971. Today there's still a Jarry Park, but it bears
little resemblance to the original Expos ballpark. The site is
now under the guidance of Tennis Canada and is used for
professional and amateur tennis events, as well as concerts,
exhibitions, and other sporting events.
Seating:
28,000
That
there was a ballpark at all was a testament to the diligence
of Charles Bronfman (part of the family that owned distilling
giant Seagram's), who had to convince Montreal Mayor Jean
Drapeau to approve its use as a temporary baseball facility.
Before the arrival of the Expos, Jarry Park was a smaller,
3,000-seat stadium used for amateur baseball. But when city
leaders went looking around for a baseball-stadium site, Jarry
Park was the only logical location. The plan was to play in Jarry Park
for a year, until a new domed stadium could be built for the
team. But no dome was forthcoming, and the stadium ended up
being the home of the Expos until a new stadium was
constructed in conjunction with the 1976 Olympics --
Olympic Stadium.
Being a "temporary" facility, Jarry
Park had few amenities. The only covered seating was in the
press box, and the climes of Montreal frequently meant that
games were played in cold and damp conditions. There was a
single set of bleachers in left field. It didn't
matter to Montreal fans: despite having the smallest stadium
in the majors, the Expos drew 1.2 million fans their inaugural
season.
STATS
| Dimensions | |||||
| Year | LF | LC | C | RC | RF |
| 1969-70 | 340 | 368 | 415 | 368 | 340 |
| 1971-73 | 340 | 368 | 417 | 368 | 340 |
| 1974-76 | 340 | 368 | 420 | 368 | 340 |
| Year | Attendance | Average | Rank in League | Record | Standing | |
| 1969 | 1,212,608 | 14,970 | 7th out of 12 | 70-90 | 6 | |
| 1970 | 1,424,683 | 17,589 | 6th out of 12 | 91-71 | 6 | |
| 1971 | 1,290,963 | 16,034 | 8th out of 12 | 91-70 | 5 | |
| 1972 | 1,142,145 | 14,643 | 9th out of 12 | 79-83 | 5 | |
| 1973 | 1,246,863 | 15,393 | 9th out of 12 | 102-60 | 4 | |
| 1974 | 1,019,134 | 15,548 | 9th out of 12 | 89-73 | 4 | |
| 1975 | 908,292 | 11,213 | 9th out of 12 | 91-71 | 5 | |
| 1976 | 646,704 | 7,984 | 11th out of 12 | 79-83 | 6 |
Trivia
First MLB home run hit in Jarry Park: Mack Jones,
Montreal Expos, 4/14/1969
Last MLB home run hit in Jarry Park: Greg Luzinski,
Philadelphia Phillies, 9/26/1976
Player who hit the most home runs hit in Jarry Park: Ron
Fairly, 58
Total home runs hit in Metropolitan Stadium: 980
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