Treasure Trove: The Jewish Root, Root, Roots of the Toronto Blue Jays |
The Toronto Blue Jays are about to begin their 50th season, but they actually turn 50 on March 20, 2026. It was on this day that Major League Baseball’s American League voted 11 to 1 to award an expansion franchise to Toronto.
When the Montreal Expos became the first Canadian team in Major League Baseball in 1969, Paul Godfrey, who was then a North York alderman, set out to secure a franchise for Toronto (special thanks to Toronto community member Maxwell Kates who with Bill Nowlin share the history of the birth of the Blue Jays in their 2018 book Time for Expansion Baseball). Godfrey approached baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn who told Godfrey that Toronto first needed a baseball stadium before applying for a team.
In 1973, Godfrey was the Metro Toronto Chairman when he and Ontario Premier Bill Davis agreed to upgrade and expand Exhibition Stadium. The renovation was completed in August 1975. With the stadium ready, Toronto lawyer Herb Solway, on behalf of a group that included Labatt’s Breweries, negotiated an agreement to purchase the San Francisco Giants and move the team to Toronto for........