April 14, 1969: Emmène-moi au jeu de balle.

MONTREAL - Major League Baseball was slow to become a truly national game. For more than 50 years, there were no teams farther west than St. Louis or farther south than Washington, D.C. Even the earliest franchise shifts - the Browns from St. Louis to Baltimore, the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee, the Athletics from Philadelphia to Kansas City - did little to change the geography of the sport.

That changed when the Dodgers and Giants moved from New York in California. Now baseball was a truly national game, stretching from coast to coast, and the two National League teams became the trendsetters for expansion teams and team relocations. Within 10 years, there were three more teams in California, one in Texas, and one in Atlanta.

Then, in 1969, a new frontier was crossed, as the Montreal Expos began play as an expansion team. For the first time, a professional sports league based in the United States featured a team from Canada.

On April 14, the Expos hosted the first Major League game in Canada, playing in the makeshift Jarry Park Stadium in front of a capacity crowd of only 29,000. The Expos beat the Cardinals 8-7 in a game that was broadcast nationally in Canada.

Jarry Park was meant to be only a temporary home for the Expos while they built a more major-league suitable domed stadium, so there were plenty of problems: the fans were completely exposed to the elements, which isn't a great idea in Montreal in April; the field was set up so the first baseman was often looking directly into the sun, which caused numerous stoppages in play; and of course, the capacity of 29,000 wasn't exactly what the National League wanted. But Jarry Park ended up being the Expos' home until Olympic Stadium was ready for the 1977 season.

The many delays in opening Olympic Stadium led to threats that Montreal would lose its franchise, a threat that hung over the team nearly its entire existence. They almost lost their team before getting a chance to play because of stadium issues, and even after Olympic Stadium was finished, poor crowds led to constant threats of the team moving. They finally did after the 2004 season, becoming the Washington Nationals, and leaving Toronto as the only Canadian representative in Major League Baseball.