Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Dave Van Horne: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1499

Episode Date: May 30, 2024

In this 1499th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Ford C. Frick Award winner Dave Van Horne about his career calling Expos and Marlins games, his memories of Montreal, his most memorable call and more. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, The Advantaged Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada, The Yes, We Are Open podcast from Moneris, The Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Team and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

the bottom of the night. Twenty six in a row have been retired by Dennis Martinez. One and two pitch. In the center field. In the air. Center field. Grissom. El Presidente.

El Perfecto. Welcome to episode 1499 of Toronto Miked, proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees. From Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. The Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team.

The best baseball in the city outside the dome. Join me this Sunday June 2nd at Christie Pitts. I'm throwing out the first pitch at 1 45 and I'm recording live at 2 p.m. RecycleMyElectronics.ca, committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. Season 6 of Yes We Are Open, an award-winning Monaris podcast, hosted by FOTML Grego and Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making his Toronto Mic debut is 2011 Ford C. Frick Award winner Dave Van Horn. Dave, welcome to Toronto Mic'd. Thanks for having me on the show, Mike. I've watched several of your

shows, including the one that you did with Russ Taylor's daughter. And I got a big kick out of that listening to some of the tapes you played and it was a lot of fun. So I've looked forward to this meeting with you. Well, Russ Taylor's daughter, Leslie is actually, we're going to hear from her in this episode. She's recorded something I'm going to play for you shortly. But let me tell the Expos heads listening out there that there is an episode 1056 of Toronto Mike and Danny Gallagher was my special guest and we did about 95 minutes on the history of the Montreal Expos So if your ears were burning it's because we mentioned your name quite a bit in that episode Okay

I'll be sure to check it out check it out and shout out to Danny Gallagher. He's always sharing the history of the Expos and you're a big part of that. How's retirement treating you? How is life? Very good. Everything's well here. A little on the muggy side in South Florida, but I'm not complaining about that. It's in the 80s today, yesterday and the day before it was in the 90s and so it's a little too hot to go out and ride the bike or go for walks but I'm doing just fine. Thank you. I love that you ride a bike. I'm a big cycling advocate. As is Leslie Taylor, she's biking everywhere as well but it's great that you get out there. What kind of rides are you doing?

Like along the water? Where are you going for a bike ride these days? Well, there are times I go along the water, but usually I'm about 11 miles west of the ocean. So usually I'm going past inland lakes and waterways and canals and so forth. But I try to get out and go for at least five to 10 miles on a on a good day. Some days when when it's just too hot, I'll do a couple of miles and call it a day. Well, no shame in that.

That sounds amazing. That's awesome. Sounds like you're enjoying retirement. Well deserved. We're going to kind of walk through your career, the history of the Expos. I do have some recordings, not just from Leslie, but other listeners who were very excited that you're making your Toronto Mic debut. I'm sorry it took so long. This is because of my, I think my Blue Jay

bias got in the way and it took me a while to get to you, but I'm honoured you're carving out some time for me today. Well you know as Expos we have fought the Blue Jays bias since they came into the American League so this is nothing new for us. We'll touch on that I'm going to play a clip from Brian Gerstein who is a devoted listener of this program. Brian I hope to see you at TML X15 on June 27th at Great Lakes Brewery. And I have your Toronto Maple Leafs baseball book for you that I'm going to bring for you. But Dave, this is Brian.

Dave, you are literally the soundtrack of my youth, hanging on every one of your eloquent words, broadcasting Expose games. I carried your voice around me everywhere I went, mainly via the medium of radio, where you did your best work. You were my Vince Gully, and us Expose fans were so fortunate

to have a hall of fame recognized in both St. Mary's and Cooperstown calling Expose Games. This is just a note of appreciation for especially making my summers that much more enjoyable in the Laurentians. Thank you. How does it feel to hear that? I thank you.

I'm thrilled whenever I hear from those that followed the Expos back in the day. Of course, those days were over the period of 32 years that I broadcast Expose baseball and before moving to South Florida so that was a wonderful time of my life I wish it hadn't ended and I know that there are a lot of Expose fans that wish there was some way to bring the team back it's a long hard battle and I don't know whether a whole lot of progress has been made, but we're all hoping for the best Let's keep our fingers crossed on that one I'd love to hear the story of how you were hired by the Montreal Expos for their inaugural season in 1969

But first before you tell that story, I'm curious Dave When did you fall in love with baseball?? When did you know this was your calling? Well, my father, who was born and raised in Boston, took us often from our hometown in Easton, Pennsylvania, up to Massachusetts for vacations when we were kids, my brother and I. And he started, along with his brother, my uncle Walter, taking me to games at both the Red Sox facility at Fenway Park and the Braves field where the Boston Braves played. So I got to see, introduced major league baseball up in Boston where there were two big league teams started collecting baseball cards and the rest is history.

But when did you realize you had the pipes for this? I'm listening to you in my headphones now and I'm going, no wonder he called baseball games like he's got the tambour and everything. But when did you realize, oh, I can do this. I can call a baseball game. Well, I think that happened a little bit later when I was in college. I was at RPI, which is Richmond Professional Institute. You would know it as VCU, Virginia Commonwealth University. That's where I went to school and studied radio and television and voice and diction.

And I was told several times during my tenure there that I had a chance to do this. One day, there was a notice posted on the department bullet board asking for some of the male members of the drama department to come down and audition for a radio show and So four or five of us went down there audition for a radio show I got a telephone call from the general manager of the station said we'd like you to do a show for us and that was the start of my

Radio career in Richmond, Virginia. I Think I need to go to that school to learn about diction you know Dave I think this was my great mistake I never did learn diction so I good on you for getting the the baseline there and then how do you because the Expos arrived in 1969 just a few years before I arrived now. How did you get the gig with the Expos? Well, I'll give you the Reader's Digest version because we don't have time enough in one day to go through the whole routine But I was in Richmond, Virginia Broadcasting minor league baseball the Richmond Braves the Atlanta Braves AAA club had

moved to Richmond in 1966 and I was one of the broadcasters on their games in 66 67 and 68 long about 68 I knew baseball was what I wanted to turn my career attention to and so I started applying a few times I got a couple of invitations to go for interviews in Cincinnati and in Baltimore and in Washington DC and nothing was coming my way so when the league announced expansion in 1968 I immediately applied immediately applied uh... to montreal by scoured all of the books and magazines and i couldn't find who owned the club

as a matter of fact i would find out later nobody on the club it was in the hands of mayor john drapeau and uh... several of his councilman including jerry snyder so i wrote a letter to jerry Jerry Snyder and never heard back from him. And so now it's late in 1968 and I still haven't heard a word. And a friend of mine, Lou Martin, who was a Richmond baseball guy, was hired by john mccale to go up to montreal and oversee the construction of jerry park and one day

john mccale and several other uh... executives were up there to check on the progress being made on jerry park uh... during the uh... winter of sixty eight sixty nine and uh... john said the winter of 68, 69. And John said, I've got to find a broadcaster. He said, I've hired Russ Taylor, here a Montreal broadcaster, and Russ is on board, but I'd like to bring somebody in from the United States

that has done baseball. And a voice from the back seat of the car Lou Martin's voice said well I can save you the trouble John said well I've got a hundred and thirty nine applications for the job and I don't have time to go through a hundred and thirty nine applications and Lou Martin said well I can save you the trouble he said talk to Dave Van Horn in Richmond. He's doing the Richmond Braves games. So that led to an invitation to meet with John McHale. And I met with him in West Palm Beach

during spring training of 69. And I came back to Richmond, not knowing whether I had the job or not. And we were getting ready to head into the basketball tournament season and I was doing basketball as well and the station manager said Dave are you gonna be here for basketball are you gonna be off doing baseball games and I said well I don't know he said well I have to know so I picked up the phone and I called

Montreal got a hold of Ray Blomquist who John had hired to oversee the radio end of things and I said Ray I don't want to push you on this and jeopardize my chances but if I've got a chance for this job I need to know something so I can notify them here in Richmond he said I'll call you back in five minutes well the first thing that went through my mind when I got off the phone was I'm never going to hear from them again and certainly in five minutes the phone rang again it was Ray and he said I've got some news for you I said okay good what is it he said you can tell your boss in Richmond that you won't be doing basketball in the month of April because

on April 8th you'll be a Chase Stadium in New York broadcasting the Expos first game and joining Russ Taylor as our radio broadcast team. And that's how I found out I had that job. Wow. Okay. So we're going to get back to Russ Taylor in just a moment when I play a clip from his daughter, but I'm going to play one more clip at this point from Brian who actually he's he's my co-host for this episode you don't see him here but I want to play this for you and get your response to this. Sliding doors question for you Dave at the end of the 68 season after calling games for the Richmond Braves triple-a team you out two applications, one to Kansas City and one to Montreal.

Was Kansas City a realistic option for you? Did you get an interview with them even? And how would your career have played out had you gone there instead of Montreal? It's a good question, Brian, but I can't answer it because I never heard back from Kansas City. So I never heard from them and several other places where I had applied during the late

50s. Cincinnati, at least I heard back from them, they said, they said we don't want to bring you in for baseball but we'll bring you in. We'll offer you a job as a newsreader here in Cincinnati. And that didn't appeal to me. Perhaps it should have, but it didn't. So I passed on that. I passed on an opportunity for a meeting at WTOP in Washington, DC for the senator's job. And I passed on an opportunity to meet with the Baltimore Orioles for the

Oriole job because I was really hoping to get this job with the expansion team, the Montreal Expos and it turned out I got that job. And what is that like being, you know, there on the ground floor for day one of a brand new Major League Baseball franchise and the first franchise outside the United States? Like, what is that like? Well, I've told this story many times and so I'll tell it again, particularly in light of the fact that Leslie is going to be a part of the show here. She'll be next. So you're you're you know, she's on deck. Yeah, it was such a whirlwind thing because after I turned my notice in in Montreal I had to get on a flight to rather in Richmond. I had to get on a flight to Montreal

And whooping sort of sign in get into the books and and meet with them up there and meet Russ and so I Did that and then I went back to Richmond knowing that I had to just pack up and then Russ and I were going to meet the team over in the Tampa Bay area because they'd broken camp in West Palm Beach. So it was really near the end of spring training when I was hired and Russ and I met up in Tampa Bay and watched a couple of exhibition games over there then we headed out Major League Baseball had an idea for the new Expos let's send them from Richmond to Tampa Bay from Tampa Bay to Omaha Nebraska and we'll have them play a couple of exhibition games in Omaha.

Then they'll make their way back into Milwaukee, and they'll do a couple of exhibition games in Milwaukee. Then they'll fly to New York and open their regular season and play that first game on April 8th. So that was my introduction to Major League travel, the challenges of the major league schedule and uh... russian i kinda shook our heads and said boy this is some kind of welcome to the

big leagues is that that we're all over the all over the country to finally wind up in new york for the first game now russia's uh... three children one of whom i should you probably know this, David, one of whom is a very famous comedian in this country, Carolyn Taylor. She's been on this program. She's very funny.

And then he's got a son who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting and a daughter, Leslie, who comes out to all the Toronto Miked events and has become a good friend. So let's hear from Leslie. And then after we address her question, we'll hopefully talk a little bit more about her father Russ. Hi, Dave. It's Leslie Taylor. First, I want to say thanks for answering my DM on Twitter and agreeing to come on Mike's podcast. Many of his listeners, if you haven't heard already, you most certainly will. We're big fans of yours and the expo so I was happy to be able to connect you with Mike. So my questions are more personal

than professional. So firstly coming from the US what was it like to be dropped into a majority French-speaking city like Montreal? Have you ever had you ever even been to Montreal before? And then my second question is about your kids. I fondly remember the times our family spent with yours over the years since my brother and I were all around the same age as your boys. So I was wondering what they're all up to these days. Thanks. Oh, it's great to hear from Leslie. That's wonderful. Let's see. Let's tackle the last one first the kids my boys are kind of scattered the youngest Dwayne is here in Palm Beach County he's the manager of the pods

facility in Palm Beach County and up in Baltimore my son Jim the oldest he is living in Baltimore now for oh I don't know probably 15 or 20 years and My grandson is up there in Baltimore with him and they work in home reconstruction and then up in Sabotus, Maine out in the middle of nowhere in the state of Maine my son Jeff is up there with his family. Unfortunately, David Jr., who was born in 1960, David was in the Army. He was an image interpreter. He traveled the world doing work for... doing uh... uh... work for the united states army intelligence a lot of times i wouldn't know where he was but i'd get a call from him before

he left said i'll be gone for a while so don't try to get a hold of me but uh... chip that came down with the diabetes and by the babies took his life about uh... eight years ago and we miss him terribly and so that's that's the story of the boys and they're all doing well and thank you for asking I'm sorry for your loss Dave I just want to share my condolences with you that's sorry to hear that. Well, I appreciate that. He was a very wonderful son. He was

dedicated to the United States Army until he came down with diabetes and was forced to leave. He tried to put his life together as best he could, and he did a good job of that while his health allowed him to, but he passed away down in Texas after a long battle with diabetes. Now, difficult, difficult segue, I suppose, but Montreal, very French. My daughter lives there during the school year. She goes to McGill University there, and she's fluent in French. My daughter lives there during the school year. She goes to McGill University there and you know she's fluent in French. It's easy for her but I suspect your French was a little rusty, pun intended there. But what was it like? Well I'll tell you. It's been written a few times that after I got the news that I had

the job in Montreal that I had to go to the Atlas and look and see where Montreal was. That's not true. I did look at the Atlas to see how far away it was and saw of course that it was just over the border north of New York City and but I didn't know a thing about the language issues or the politics of Montreal, Quebec, or Canada. I had vacationed there with my parents, driven through Montreal on the way to Quebec City and the eastern townships, because my father was born in New Brunswick. He's not a Canadian. He went

to the United States with his with his parents and he's an American who passed away one year before I got my job with the Expos. And so dad took us down to the Maritimes several times on family vacations, but it was always just passing through Montreal I'm gonna cut to the Exposed side of that story. I was so fortunate and Didn't know it at the time But I sure found out quickly to have Russ Taylor as my partner because Russ took me through as my partner because Russ took me through Montreal history, the baseball history in Montreal and in Quebec and across Canada and took me into the

political situations that we were dealing with at the time in the late 50s early 60s in Montreal and I would not have been as comfortable as I was had I been on my own trying to piece all that together but I had Russ Taylor at my side and he was a wonderful friend and a wonderful teacher and guided me through everything that I needed to know about not just Montreal but Quebec and Canada. Now you Dave you're in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Yes. Congratulations on that.

Now I've been doing work lately with the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team that plays at Christie Pitts. In fact, I'm there on Sunday recording live and I've got to know the good people at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. So my question for you in this, in a future this may be revisited but in your opinion should Russ Taylor be in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame? Absolutely I've made that case with my fellow members on many occasions every year I have him on my ballot. Russ of course had well established himself as a sportscaster in Montreal long before the Expos got there.

He did Montreal Royals work. He worked at Delorme Downs. He was well versed in the baseball history of Quebec, and had it not been for Russ and his insistence that Bill Giles, the president of the league, and John McHale go to this ballpark that was situated up at Jerry Park and see if that would serve as a place where a temporary major league facility could be built. And Russ, of course, went along for the ride when they went up there and looked at it. Indeed, the discovery of Jerry Park through Russ Taylor paved the way for the Expos to stay in Montreal, because anybody that lived through that time period remembers all the rumors they're going to move them to buffalo they're going to move

them here there are somewhere else they're not going to be able to hold on to this franchise that was before they never played a game or put a team together and uh... russia save the day with that idea that jerry park which was a a very small little ballpark sat probably two thousand people behind home plate, but it was a baseball field and it could be expanded into the massive Jerry

Park that we know today where the tennis center is and Russ said this is a place that you could put up a temporary ballpark which which they did, and it was a huge success. OK, I'm sold. Now we're going to have to revisit this at some point, because now I'm angry, Dave. We got to get Russ Taylor in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. But thank you for sharing those words. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you. As I said, I have him on my ballot every year. I've talked to other members and said you've got to give greater consideration to Russ. And I won't give up on that until he justifiably enters the Canadian Baseball hall of fame. Okay, we'll continue this conversation at a later.

That's a teaser. I'll say that's a teaser for the listenership that we're not done with this particular topic to be continued. But I'm curious, you mentioned the Montreal Royals and I know you, a couple of your partners in the booth were former members of the Montreal Royals. I'm gonna start with Jackie Robinson.

Like, so you shared the booth with Jackie Robinson. So you shared the booth with Jackie Robinson for a season, right? For two games. Two games. Oh my goodness. See, this is my Blue Jays bias is showing. For two games. John McHale brought Jackie in to do a couple of games back in the early days on TV. a couple of games back in the early days on TV. And, and, and that was a wonderful experience for all of us to spend a little bit of time with, with Jackie. That was in August of 1972. I'm searching for the right year, but I think that's it. I think that's it.

And actually it was only a Couple of months before his untimely death after a long battle with diabetes. Oh my goodness. Yeah now It's funny how I saw it was 1972 and in my imagination. This is just a just before I you know in my imagination. This is just before I, you know, showed up on this wonderful planet of ours. But two games, that's amazing, with Jackie Robinson. And I hope you can tell me a bit about sharing the booth of Duke Snyder. Well, that was a great experience for me. I was blessed with good partners all along the way, starting of course uh... with rust don drysdale came into the booth for one year on television

uh... my first year doing t v don drysdale was my partner he had pitched in montreal of course dodger manager tommy lasorda had played there uh... and uh... then along came Duke and before Duke right before Duke in 71 I'm gonna say we had a situation where John was having trouble bringing people in to work as the analyst on the schedule of games that were on TV there weren't that many We were only doing 18 to 20,

24 games a year on television in the early days. But Pee Wee Reese also came in and they worked 12 games with Pee Wee Reese. And then Duke and I, of course, were together for close to 15 years. So that was a wonderful time. And was blessed in those all those early years to have wonderful partners who were great storytellers had tremendous recall each one of them could go back to games that I would bring up or situations I would bring up and they knew they remembered they remembered the ball strike count how many outs what the score was and what their part in that game? Was and it just blew me away that these ex players had

the memory of The games that they played in and in the in the big leagues that was etched firmly into their brains Now I took note when I was doing that deep dive into the history of the Expos with Danny Gallagher that unlike with the Blue Jays we don't have you know we don't have a Tim Lynn to Carter we don't have a touch them all Joe but I'm gonna play a little clip and talk about one season in particular so let's listen to this. So 1981, that's the first time the Montreal Expos win the pennant.

Would you mind sharing? Yeah, share a little bit about just 81. I know how it ends. I might play that clip too, just a trigger warning for the Expos fans. But could you tell me a little bit about the 81 season? Well, the first memory that comes to me other than postseason in 81 was earlier in the year when there was a strike. And the players went out for, I think it was 55 days before coming back and resuming the

season. And when the season resumed, it was referred to as the second half and of course that the Expos won the second half title and went on to the playoffs I remember of course the five game league championship series which would have resulted in a World Series appearance for the for the Expos but the Dodgers got in the way and infamous Blue Monday and won that game and and the the Expos came oh so close that year and it turned out to be until just a couple of ago uh... who was it two thousand twenty when they

paid for the second time to the to the playoffs but uh... that eighty one uh... marred by the player strike uh... we picked up and everybody was really excited about the way the team played in that second half the win that second half title and then go on to the leg championship series which would have then go on to the league championship series which would have paved the way to the World Series only to lose on the on

the last day Blue Monday. Well let me play that clip maybe. I'm sorry let me let me play the Blue Monday just you know I'm contractually obligated to play it and then we'll kind of talk about that moment and again I am a Blue J fan but I remember the end of the 1987 season and I can tell you recently Our playoff appearances have been rather painful, but let's play the famous Rick Monday home run game now in the stretch Here's the 3-1 pitch and it's swung on fly ball center field Dawson going back onto the warning track Dawson at the wall that ball is a home run! That ball is out of here, and a home run for Rick Monday,

and the Dodger bench clears to congratulate Rick Monday, who has hit a two-out home run here in the ninth inning, and it appeared that Andre Dawson had room as he went back to the fence, and he just flat ran out of room as the ball cleared the fence at about the 385 mark Well as we mentioned Ron Rick Monday a fastball hitter in that situation Steve had to come in with a fastball He hit it hard. He hit it to center field the deepest part of the field Andre went back on it

Thought he had a chance, but it just cleared the fence a ninth inning home run and the Dodgers have gone ahead two to one my goodness Dave listening to that now I'm heartbroken here again all over again so close yet so far but what was that like? yeah well Duke and I were working the game on TV But what was that like? Yeah. Yeah. Well, Duke and I were working the game on TV. That was the radio broadcast with Ron Roche and Tommy Hutton.

Who was your partner to? Yeah, sorry. No, I was just going to say Tommy's still working in baseball as one of the analysts on the Marlins games. Excuse me. us on the Marlins games. Excuse me. So what's it like? That was the radio broadcast and I remember things had gone so well for the Expos. I remember during the commercial break after the top of the ninth inning, Duke and I being in agreement that you know that might not be the end of this game because this team has played so well and they've got a lot of the right people coming up in the bottom of the ninth inning they can still pull this out. We were very optimistic heading into the bottom of the night that the

team would pull it out. So the shock of the Monday home run really didn't set in with Van Horn and Snyder until the game was over. Wow, yeah and man I yeah I gotta ask you a question now I don't even quite understand the context. So actually, Dave, I'm hoping you'll explain this. But okay, so Tim writes in when you were coming on and said, Ask him how he felt when Claude Brochu gave the color commentary job to Joe Cannon. Would you mind sharing who is Joe Cannon for those of us who are pleading ignorance and why was this decision controversial in any regard? Well Joe was a long time Montreal broadcaster, talk show host and did a wonderful job. And he went to school back in the day with Claude Broucher.

They'd been lifelong friends and so when the when the opening came about Claude took the shortcut and and asked Joe if he wanted to do the games and he had never done play-by-play or analyzed baseball games before and so John put him in in that position and it might have been that the Joe could have been a part of the broadcast somehow but probably not as as the analyst. Interesting okay so now I understand completely that Joe Cannon was a fine broadcaster but maybe lacked to the depth of knowledge You might require to be you know an analyst for a baseball game well

in all of the years prior to that the bar had been set pretty high when you consider Don Drysdale and Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snyder for all those years and Gary Carter and even Jim Fanning. It was a surprise to us at the time that Claude asked Jim Fanning to go into the radio booth, which he did for a few years. But Jim was a baseball man and he knew the game and he he knew the players he knew the system and so we never really looked back on that but anyway that's the way it all went down sometimes it's who you know right Dave well that's true and that was

the case for me to get the job. As I told you, I knew Lou Martin from Richmond and it was Lou Martin who said to John McHale, talk to Dave Van Horn at a moment when John was shuddering at the thought of having to go through a 130 some applications for that job. Right. Now, spoiler alert, at some point you do leave the Expos.

Before the Expos leave Montreal, you leave the Expos and you start broadcasting games for the Marlins. And you're lucky enough that you get to call a World Series Championship in Florida. But before you leave Montreal, I have some more Expos questions for you, particularly in your opinion just with Montreal, not with the Marlins. Dave, what would you say was your most memorable call while with the Montreal Expos?

That's a difficult question to answer. I don't know that I can respond to that. I I'm sure a lot of fans and, uh, unfortunately, not unfortunately, I shouldn't say that, but I was doing TV the day that, uh, Dennis Martinez, uh, pitched his perfect game. And I had a call at the end of that game that a lot of people remember El Presidente El Perfecto. a lot of people remember El Presidente El Perfecto. And because of the wonderful pitching job that the dentist did that day, my call has survived

and I still hear it every now and then on various outlets. So that was probably the one that stays with me the most, but I was fortunate enough for a 16 year period to watch the Expos win more games than any other national league team in that 16 year period. And so it's hard to pick out any one game or any one finish or series, but that was a, that was a wonderful time so that was half of the 32 years that I spent in my in Montreal so the calls I

know early in the our broadcast careers both Russ and I we were kind of feeling our way through I never said, up and away for the first two or three years and we were both trying to find our niche as baseball broadcasters and one night driving home from Jerry Park I was thinking about this and I was thinking you know Russ and I are calls at the end of games winning or losing, are so similar I should probably come up with something and? Anyway, I heard that song and I said, you know, Up Up and Away, that might work. And so I thought about it

for a few days and then I'd forgotten what the date was that I finally used the call on the radio and I used it for a week or two and I thought well I haven't heard any feedback on this at all I'll just go back to manufacturing my own finish to at bats and games and when I did, John McHale came to me and he said, why have you stopped using up up and away? And I said, well, I didn't think anybody was reacting to it. He said, well, I'm reacting to it. And I want you to go back to it right now. And I did. Smart move. All right. So you mentioned this call, you've, you know, often hear it at different outlets. And here's another outlet that's you know, often hear it at different outlets. And here's another outlet that's going to make you hear it again. So let's just listen

to that call you were been retired by Dennis Martinez. One and two pitch. Center field. Grissom. the mission, El Presidente El Perfecto. The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild!

The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! The crowd goes wild! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, the the the the

the the the the the Dennis Martinez with a perfect no hit no run ball game and the Expos have beaten the Dodgers 2-0. What a tremendous reaction. I love the restraint you show on that call and that you have that memorable call and

then you just let the crowd go for I didn't time it but it felt like a minute or so and it just makes it perfect no wonder people keep replaying that call it it was a moment that belonged to Dennis now to remind those who didn't see that on television, that was a television game. And they were seeing the celebration on the field. They were seeing Dennis Martinez and Duke. And I always felt the same way about that game in particular and others as well. Those moments belong to the player, not to the broadcaster.

So once I got that final call in on that catch by Grissom, we just sat back and looked at each other and shook our heads and it was just a marvelous moment. And the way that the Dodger fans treated Dennis and the Expos that day, It sounded like a home game. Yeah. Yes. The crowd was just terrific.

And the appreciation they showed to Dennis. Of course, if you're a Dodger fan and have been for a few years, you have a great appreciation for great pitching. This is the team that had Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax and Don Sutton and so many other wonderful pitchers. They were used to wonderful moments on the mound and they paid tribute

to Dennis with that long, long-standing ovation that he received as the Expos won that game, so let me ask you this Dave if that was a radio broadcast Would you have let the crowd carry carry on that that length of time or would you have? described the scene Well, I would have I would have done both. I think because it's radio, I can't leave everybody hanging. So I've got to do something and that something would be to describe the team celebration

on the field with Dennis Martinez and so forth. But I think that I would have waited a few moments. I don't think I would have jumped right in and tried to talk over the crowd. I think we would have let that crowd ride out a little bit, but then I would have turned right away. If Duke and I were doing the game,

I would have turned after say 15, 20 seconds, maybe 30 seconds, I would have turned right away if Duke and I were doing the game. I would have turned after say 15 20 seconds, maybe 30 seconds. I would have turned to Duke and and gotten him involved in the The the postgame atmosphere down on the field So now as I listened to your call there and yet like you pointed out that was a television broadcast Which is different than a radio broadcast but I am thinking of now Jerry Howarth who I've had the pleasure of having over here to talk about his career calling Blue Jay games and I believe it was the Joey Joey Bats home run in the seventh inning of that that wild game against the

the Rangers where Jerry you know there she. And then there is not quite that lengthy, but there's quite a long time he lets that crowd take it on the radio. And the calls remind me of each other. So there you go. Yeah, and the Blue Jays were blessed to have Tom Cheek for all those years. It was a good, who was a good friend of mine.

As a matter of fact, and I think most of the older Toronto fans know this about Tom Cheek. When Tom was down in Burlington, Vermont, working as a radio broadcaster and doing sports and so forth, we would go down there as part of the winter caravan with the expos to sell tickets in the Champlain Valley and Tom was always a part of our luncheons and dinners down there and as a matter of fact when the time came for someone to sit in for me on the telecast, I was the one that recommended to John McHale and Jim Fanning that they go after Tom Cheek and, uh, and they did so Tom filled in for me in, in

Montreal before the blue jays came into the existence and, and he, he went to uh, Toronto and the rest is history. One of the games, great broadcasters andters and one of the best guys ever to sit behind a microphone and do baseball. Well, that's game recognizing game. I was just about to ask you if you had a relationship with Tom and or Jerry because that's the soundtrack. So Brian off the top is talking about you're the soundtrack to his summers growing up.

Tom and Jerry are the soundtrack to my summers growing up without a doubt. And we miss Tom Cheek very much. That's a nice soundtrack. Yeah. It doesn't get much, much better than that. And you do have something in common with Tom Cheek in that you have won the Ford C. Frick Award. That's essentially essentially that's like a broadcaster getting into Cooperstown, right? Yeah, essentially it is being honored by

Cooperstown. It's the highest honor that a baseball broadcaster can receive the Ford C. Frick award. Well, that's amazing. You got that in 2011 and then Tom Cheek posthumously received that award as well. I'm going to play, speaking of Brian who called you the soundtrack to his summers, I'm just going to play one more Brian clip and then we'll talk about some of the players before we talk about what happens to Montreal Expos. So here's Brian again. The Expos in Montreal really had incredible personalities over the years. The players who embraced the culture and the city loved playing here and the fans of them. How proud are you of Pedro Martinez, who to this day speaks so fondly of the team and just came in recently to a charity event I went to to be a part of the 30th anniversary

of the 94 Expos. Can you now take from your wallet and show Mike the index card you keep of the 94 Expos. Can you now take from your wallet and show Mike the index card you keep of the 94 Expos 25-man roster, the team with the best record in baseball? Also, which Expo players were you closest to over the years? Do you still stay in touch with any of them? And this also can come from any era you broadcast. He's giving you orders Dave. Wow. Some tall orders there. Well, Brian, I can't reach into my wallet and pull out that card that has the Expo's numbers on it. Only because I'm upstairs at my office. my wallet is downstairs in the safe that's getting its downstairs to my bureau so anyway

anyway uh... so i i i i can't show you that at the moment i would have to take time to downstairs and right now but but but the fact that i have a very good it's there and it's it's been there all these years it's amazing the number of people that i run into from time to time that will ask us and can i see that card to carry around in your wallet and it takes me uh... you know ten seconds and i have it

and then so they can look at it it's just uh... a reminder to me of what a great game this is and what a great team that was in Montreal. It's just a shame that during all those wonderful years that they only got to the playoffs one time. Is 1994 the one that got away? Is that still haunting Expos fanatics? I think so. I've still when they asked me well what's the best Expos team? When I get that question I always say 94 and then I emphasize because your question was the best Exp team as a team.

No Montreal team played any better than that 94 team. Uh, and, and that includes all the years of the superstars, the, uh, the rusty stops, the Andre Dawson's and Tim Reigns and Gary Carter's and all of them, Steve Rogers, all of the others, that 94 team was the best team in my opinion that the Expos had. Did you have a, I mean, it's a tough question I suppose, but were there any Expos in particular that you enjoyed chatting with more than, you know, a typical conversation with a professional athlete? I just wondered who the standouts were.

Sure, I'm still good friends with Steve Rogers. We hit it off when he first came up in what, 73. We hit it off at that time and, and I always use Steve as an example. I'll say to a baseball fan who will, will be talking about some, uh, some pictures and, and I'll say, I will save you having to listen to me about this. But when you get home, go to baseballreference.com and look up Steve Rogers and look at the career that he had as an expo and the numbers that he put up. It's just incredible to have had a pitcher like that come along. We had others, Pedro Martinez won his first Cy Young award as a member of the Expos. And unfortunately, the next year he was gone.

So there was never a ceremony at the ballpark to honor the Cy Young Award winner. He was something else to watch too. Felipe Alou did such a wonderful job managing him and bringing him along after he came over from the Dodgers and helping to turn him into a magnificent starting pitcher and a course a Hall of Famer so but yeah Steve Rogers and Gary Carter they both always wound up in the neighborhood when I was in Montreal Gary moved to Montreal and

he lived just a few blocks away from me out on the West Island of Montreal in Kirkland and Steve Rogers did the same. Steve was there as a matter of fact, Steve Rogers and his family lived in the same apartment buildings that I first moved into with my family in 1969. So we were close friends for a long, long time. And I still get to see Steve a couple of times a year. And we, we have that kind of friendship that you, you pick it up where it left off. You feel like the, I might not have seen him or talked to him in a year. I usually do. We make some phone calls or texts back and forth, but we're just able to pick up the friendship right from the start. And Tommy Hutton's part of that

too. He's good friends with Steve. Amazing. Amazing. Now, you know, you don't stay with the Montreal Expos for the entirety of that franchise's existence because in 2001 you're broadcasting games for the Marlins so why did you leave Montreal Dave? Well it wasn't my choice during the 2000 season when that season started Jeffrey Loria had taken over as the owner and David Sampson as the president of the ball club. And they were trying to negotiate a rights fee with local radio stations. And they failed at that.

And so David thought, well, we'll, we'll play the ACE card. So David thought, well, we'll, we'll play the ACE card. We'll tell the business here, the radio business that we're not going to do the games on the radio unless they come up with a right speed. And so he called me into the office and he said, this was the 2000 season. He said, we're not doing the games in English. And he said, if you want to look elsewhere, your contract expires at the end of this season, but you have our permission right now

to look elsewhere for a job. So that was the way things came down. I wound up doing most of the 2000 season on the internet. And so I think I might still be the first broadcaster to broadcast an entire season or most of the entire season, uh, on the internet. Uh, so when that ended, uh, my career with the, uh, uh, Montreal was over. In the meantime, I had learned that there was going to be an opening in Florida.

I had made my home in Florida since 1984, moved from Montreal to South Florida. So my home was here and I heard there was going to be an opening with the Florida Marlins and I immediately went to work on that because I knew the boss there. I knew David Dombrowski from his days in Montreal and I had a meeting with David Dombrowski. He had me meet with their marketing people and before that 2000 season was over, I had the job in South Florida for starting in 2001. In 2003, you get to call a World Series Championship.

So what was that like? Well, it was an absolute thrill. It was a thrilling playoff schedule of games, and it was a thrill to do that and to actually win the World Series by beating the New York Yankees on their turf in the Bronx. And it's a memory that stays with me to this day. When that game was over, of course all of the families that had traveled with the Marlins came down on the field. My daughter was three years old at the time, Madison. So I said, �Maddie, come with me.� I took her by the hand and I went to Home Plate,

talked to her about Home Plate, and this was where it all happened. We walked the bases. We walked the first, second to third and home. And that memory sticks out with me forever. She was three years old at the time. She's now 24. Wow. Wow.

I can't believe that. Mattinson is now 24 years old and she lives here just south of West Palm Beach in in they in Delray Beach. Nice. Now Dave, do they give you a ring if you call the World Series? Oh yes, yes. I have the same and I'll say this as a tribute to Valoria and Samson. They gave the broadcasters the same ring. It was not a cut down version of the ring. It was the same ring that the players and front office staff ownership and so forth received.

So I still have that, of course. Now, Dave, we're winding down here. I just want to tell you how much I've enjoyed this. Like, you know, I think I've taken an hour of your life here and I've got a couple more points I want to hit before we say goodbye. But I want to say thank you so much that you agreed to do this. And again, teaser for the listenership. We might be hearing more Dave Anhorn later in June 2024. So thanks so much for doing this. Mike, it's been my pleasure. I appreciate the invitation and I'm looking forward to coming

back with you and looking forward to having to spend some time, albeit on a web call with Leslie Taylor. So we'll look forward to that. And again, I thank you very much. Now from that positive note, we're going to go a little sad here because on September 29th, 2004, as luck would have it, you're calling the final home game in Expo's history from the visiting radio booth. What were the odds, right? But you're there to call the final home game. As I recall we didn't know for sure but we knew right like it was one of those this is probably it yeah tell me what it was like to call the you know the final out in that game on

september 29th 2004 well there were a lot of tears that day uh and not just the in the Expos booths TV and radio but also brought a tear to my eye as well because we were all convinced this this was the end this was the the last game and I it was it was a it was a, it was a sad day. I remember after we left the air walking out of the booth and I walked right into Claude Ramon and he could hardly speak with tears, uh, streaking down his, his face and, uh, it's in a way it's ironic because my absolute It's in a way, it's ironic because my absolute number one start in my Expos career April 8th, 1969, standing during the Athens next to Russ Taylor, and I turned to Russ and he had tears running down his face prior to that first game at Shea Stadium. Will the Expos ever return to Montreal? You don't have a crystal ball? I won't hold you to this. I'm just wondering what your educated guess would be on this one.

Well, I know this. For Expos fans of a certain age who have been through a lot with that franchise that whether or not the team physically comes back or not it will never leave because it's in the hearts of so many Montrealers, Quebecers and Canadians. That's true and we've heard from a couple today and there were many more but many people miss in the Expos and Maybe maybe one day they will return we do not know but we know you're as we mentioned off the top You're retired. So I'm just curious Why did you retire you call baseball games for a living? Why not do that forever? Well, it was time it It was time and things behind the

scenes in South Florida were changing. Several ownership changes and things were not headed in a positive direction and it was time to move on. Heading into my last season of broadcasting, pretty much a full schedule, 2021, I thought to myself I'd like to do a year or two more, but that was taken away when the offer that they made for me to stay here, the offer that came from the front office here, was just not an offer that an experienced, established major league broadcaster would be able to accept. And so, my last words to them over the phone, because they never met with me physically, but over the phone, my last words were, if this is your last offer, I would sooner retire

than accept this offer. And as a matter of fact, I got a little strong there. I said, you should be ashamed of the offer that you've made to me. And that was the end of my conversation with them, and I've never heard from them since. Good for you. Seriously, good for you. You're in the Hall of Fame for goodness sakes, right?

Yes. Do they know that? I'm getting angry. Very proud of that. Very proud of that. I am proud of my body of work. 53 years in the major leagues and 56 years in professional baseball, because I always count

the three years that I did minor league ball in Richmond with the Richmond Braves. Well, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Ford Zee Frick Award, and now you're an FOTM, a friend of Toronto Mike, that's the trifecta. Dave Van Horn, I loved this so much. Thanks for doing this. Mike, it was my pleasure.

We'll do it again. And that brings us to the end of our 1,499th show. Episode 1500 drops tomorrow. Stay tuned for that. And again, on Sunday, I'm at Christie Pitts to watch Toronto Maple Leafs baseball, and I'll be recording live from just beyond the left field fence.

Drop by, say hi, maybe pop on the mic. Let's talk. You can follow me on Twitter, all over the place. I'm at Toronto Mike. Your hub for all things in the TMU is torontomike.com. Much love to all who made this possible that is Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, RecycleMyElectronics.ca,

the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team, Monaris, season six of Yes We Are Open, is available now and it's great. And Ridley Funeral Home, episode 1500 drops tomorrow. See you then. Ah, where you been? Because everything is coming out Rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the snow's cold It won't speed a day

And your smile is fine And it's just like wine And it won't go away Because everything is Rosy and gray