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The Montreal Expos were celebrated in Vancouver Tuesday evening as the Blue Jays’ short-season A affiliate donned special Expos-themed jerseys in their game against the Everett AquaSox on Tim Raines Night. The Canadians created the event to commemorate Raines’ induction into Cooperstown, and Raines—who is also the Blue Jays’ minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator—was in attendance.
for @Sportswave. @VanCanadians 4 @EverettAquasox 1 on Montreal Expo themed night to honour @TimRaines30 2017 induction into MLB HOF. pic.twitter.com/mHfPcNLI24
— D. Laird Allan (@HockeyGrandDad) August 23, 2017
The Canadians worked with both Major League and Minor League Baseball to create the bleu, blanc, et rouge “vcb” logo (for Vancouver Canadians baseball), riffing on the iconic Expos logo that had “eb” (for Expos baseball) in the shape of an “M” (for Montreal). The logo had previously been modified for the Burlington Expos, a Montreal minor league affiliate.
Vancouver’s uniform is based on the home uniforms the Expos wore between 1980 and 1991 with thick red and blue “racing stripes” on the shoulders down the sleeves and down the sides of the uniform top. The player’s number is displayed in Expos typeface on both the back as well as the right side of the front of the jersey.
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As can be seen in this photo from Greg Balloch, the Canadians jersey does not have the player name on the back, unlike the Expos version from that era. (The Expos jerseys also had no name on back prior to 1978, but those ones did not have the thick “racing stripes”.)
The game-worn jerseys were auctioned off after the game to benefit the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation who helps kids in the area get into organized baseball.