The Montreal Expos were Canada’s only Major League Baseball franchise, playing in Montreal from their inception in 1969 until being relocated to Washington, D.C. and becoming the Nationals after the 2004 season. As with every MLB team, the Expos had a long history depicted through baseball cards from the early days of the franchise up until their departure from Montreal.
The Expos first season in 1969 featured their debut in the original MLB expansion that year along with the San Diego Padres. Topps captured the Expos’ inaugural season with a standard 66 card rookie cup design set highlighting the Expos players and coaches. Some of the notable rookie cards from that ’69 Topps set include Rusty Staub, Mike Marshall, and manager Gene Mauch. Staub would go on to have the most successful career of any Expo and is still regarded as one of the franchise’s most popular players.
Throughout the 1970s, Topps remained the sole issuer of MLB licenses and continued putting out standard design annual sets that featured the Expos players. Notable rookie cards from those ’70s sets include future All-Stars like Steve Rogers, Gary Carter, andWARren Cromartie. Carter in particular became arguably the greatest Expo of all-time during his Hall of Fame catching career largely spent in Montreal. As the franchise developed young stars and contended in the NL East at times in the late 70s, demand grew for their cards as collectors looked to build complete rainbow sets featuring the players on their favorite teams.
In 1981, Topps lost its baseball monopoly when Fleer was granted an MLB license and began producing rival sets in direct competition. This increased collector interest and gave the Expos increased cardboard exposure with Fleer highlighting the team. Notable rookie cards in the 1981 Fleer set include future 20-game winner Bill Gullickson and outfielder Tim Raines, who went on to a stellar career and is another of the franchise’s most beloved stars. Raines’ rookie card is among the most desirable and valuable from the entire Expos cardboard history.
Through the 1980s, the annual Topps and Fleer sets continued to chronicle the Expos with stars like Carter, Raines, Rogers, and Andre Dawson leading the way. Dawson’s dominant 1987 season was documented with a spectacular Fleer Update photo of him shattering his bat. Card companies also produced multi-player traded sets highlighting key Expos transactions to recapulate the franchise’s roster changes. The late 80s saw Montreal field competitive clubs that won division titles in ’81 and ’94 buoyed by the stars depicted on their cards.
The 1990s brought struggles on the field and business troubles that foreshadowed the eventual relocation. Players like Delino DeShields and Pedro Martinez had their early careers captured but stars of the past like Dawson and Carter were now featured on other teams’ cards as free agents. Upper Deck entered the baseball card market in 1989 and provided prestigious photo and style subsets highlighting Expos despite their declining fortunes. The franchise’s impending move was also referenced on certain late 90s cards captioned as their “Final Seasons.”
By 2001, the franchise was in dire straits with ownership wanting to move the team. Their declining on-field product and business woes were reflected in the cards. Brands like Leaf produced retrospective collections focusing on the glory years to commemorate a potential end of the franchise in Montreal. After the devastating 1994 strike andExamining attendance declines, MLB forced the sale and relocation of the Expos after 2004 to current owner Ted Lerner, moving them to Washington to become the Nationals.
To this day, completed vintage Expos card sets remain desirable for collectors seeking to preserve the cardboard history and memories of MLB’s only Canadian franchise. Keys cards like the rookies of Staub, Carter, Raines, and others remain pricey for serious Expos collectors. While the franchise no longer plays in Montreal, their full history from 1969-2004 continues to live on through the baseball cards issued each year that chronicled the ups and downs of the franchise on cardboard for generations of collectors.
