« The world championship of professional baseball, which is the national sport of the United States, is no longer American. For the first time in 89 years of history, it was the Toronto Blue Jays who accomplished the feat. »
On October 25, 1992 on the show On Sunday, journalist Claude Gervais presents a report on this historic victory of the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.
On October 24, 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series.
Photo : Radio-Canada
On game night, 45,000 people gathered at the SkyDome in Toronto to watch the game on giant screens. The fans do not fail to invade the field screaming their joy to see their team defeat the Braves.
For Toronto, it’s a kind of revenge on Atlanta which robbed it of the 1996 Olympic Games for which the Queen City was also a candidate.
The Blue Jays form a cohesive team with star players like veteran Dave Winfield and pitchers: Juan Guzman, Jack Morris and David Cone. The hits of Roberto Alomar, whose talent seems to have no limits both in defense and in attack, follow one another at a constant rate.
If the Blue Jays fever has taken on masterful proportions, the pride of being Canadian is not to be outdone. As the journalist mentions, Canada is celebrated as much as the Blue Jays and blue jay pennants rub shoulders with Canadian flags and Yes signs.
The 1992 World Series final was played two days before the referendum vote on the Charlottetown Constitutional Accord. Some then claim that the patriotic fervor should lead to a rise in the Yes camp. Nothing will happen and the proposal to renew the Canadian constitution is finally rejected by 56.68% of the votes cast.
The day after the victory, on October 26, 1992, Torontonians gather in the streets to celebrate. At least 500,000 came to watch the parade.
On October 26, 1992, at Tonight in OntarioCarole Lewis reports on the atmosphere that reigns in the metropolis.
Tonight in Ontario, October 26, 1992
Photo : Radio-Canada
Business people, hotel and restaurant staff all observe the parade. The city pauses to celebrate this historic victory.
In 1992, the mighty Blue Jays had a much higher payroll than the Expos. 48 million dollars against 18 million in Montreal. It is expected that the presence in the world series will have a fallout of 23 million.
The Toronto Blue Jays would repeat the feat of winning the World Series the following year in 1993.
