St. Marys – Like an over zealous Christmas enthusiast who needs to undue the belt buckle after a third helping of turkey, the museum at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is bursting at the seams and needs to expand its exhibit space quickly.

Today, in true Holiday-like spirit, the Montreal Expos officially signed over numerous artifacts and archives valued in the range of three hundred thousand dollars to the Canadian Ball Hall.

"We wish to preserve the history of Nos Amours so that future generations will be able to discover and learn about the amazing journey of the Montreal Expos over the past thirty-six years," said Expos Executive Vice President of Business Affairs Claude Delorme.

"We are honoured with the responsibility of preserving the Expos memory in Canada," said Hall President & CEO Tom Valcke.  "If Charles Bronfman hadn't brought major league baseball to Canada, you have to wonder if Eric Gagné would have ever picked up a ball?  Our country's grass roots registrations have traditionally been linked to the success and popularity of the Expos, Blue Jays, our national teams and the many Canadians who have made their mark in the major leagues.  Losing the Expos not only impacts the fans, but the future of baseball in Canada as well - they've more than earned their space in Canada's Baseball Hall of Fame."

"The onslaught of new artifacts is one of those pleasant problems that we welcome," added Valcke.  "Even before this generous donation by the Expos, we have only been able to display approximately one quarter of our artifacts at any one given time (the rest is stored in a warehouse), so there is an ongoing rotation of exhibits."

"The sooner we can land a philanthropist or a Canadian corporation who wants to be noted for helping us preserve Canada's rich baseball heritage, the sooner we can put our entire inventory on display."

The current museum is a converted century-old farmhouse loaded with character, and stacked with artifacts that literally hang from the ceiling.  The Hall's current business plan calls for a thirty thousand square foot state-of-the-art, interactive museum with office space and possibly conference services facilities targeted to be built by 2008.  The existing building would either be converted into a resource centre with a research library, or possibly office space if national or provincial offices choose to branch out to St. Marys.

The donation from the Expos to the Hall of Fame includes the following items:

• All-time Expos bronze busts (27)
• Framed team photos from all 36 years
• The seat where Willie Stargell's 535' homerun landed, the longest homerun in the history of Olympic Stadium
• The Vladimir Guerrero 502' homerun display, the longest homerun hit by an Expo at Olympic Stadium
• Home plate from the final home game ever played at Olympic Stadium
• The three bases from 2004 Opening Day Olympic Stadium
• 4 lockers from the Expos dressing room
• The Expos "President's Club" lit metal sign
• Models of the proposed new stadium in Montreal
• Batting tunnel
• Fencing/padding from front of dugouts
• 7 rolls of astroturf
• Pitching maching
• Indoor pitching mound

The Expos distributed other artifacts and archives to Montreal's McCord Museum, Cinémathèque Québécoise, and Panthéon des Sports du Québec.    

ST. MARYS – 22 December 2004

PLEASE NOTE:

2004 Silent Auction - Nov 1-Dec 17 at noon
        *22 Great Items
        *Varies from Accommodations/Sports/Gift Certificates, etc.

Mark your calendar with these key dates in 2005:

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum

P.O. Box 1838 (140 Queen St. E.)
St. Marys, ON, Canada, N4X 1C2
Tel: (519) 284-1838
Toll Free: 1-877-250-BALL
Fax: (519) 284-1234
Email: baseball@baseballhalloffame.ca

Website: www.baseballhalloffame.ca