#20: Toronto Becomes a Big League
City
Chicago White Sox (5) at Toronto Blue
Jays (9)
Thursday, April 7, 1977
Exhibition Stadium
As
far as monumental events go, the first game in the history of a franchise would
have to qualify as an important one. And while the game had very little impact
in terms of importance to the season (the team would post a record of 54 wins
and 107 losses that first year), there is no denying the impact it had on the
city of Toronto, the team and its fans.
Toronto
has always been considered a hockey town and the blustery snow that greeted the
Blue Jays on its inaugural opening day did little to contradict that fact. One
of the most famous images of the game is several members of the White Sox
walking around the snow-covered field on catcher’s shin pads, mimicking snow
shoes. And while the American media had a field day laughing at Toronto and
Canada for the elements, they didn’t point out that American League cities like
Minneapolis and Milwaukee were also prone to such weather at the beginning of April.
And let’s not forget the numerous times the Cleveland Indians have had to
postpone opening day because of snow over the last decade.
Before
the first pitch, the Canadian National Anthem was sung by Canadian-born,
folk-singer Anne Murray (she would also sing the Anthem at the team’s first
World Series game 15 years later). Other notables in attendance that day were
Toronto major David Crombie and legendary Toronto Maple Leaf broadcaster,
Foster Hewitt.
The
game was broadcast on the CBC network with Don Chevrier providing play-by-play
and former Yankee great Whitey Ford providing the analysis. As for the radio,
Tom Cheek and Early Wynn provided the voices for fans tuning into CJCL.
Toronto’s
first starting pitcher was Bill Singer and his first pitch to White Sox batter
Ralph Garr was a called strike. But Singer didn’t fare well in his Opening Day
start. He would pitch 4 1/3 innings, give up 11 hits, four runs (three earned),
walked three and struck out five.
After
Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Toronto came to bat for the first
time in its history. The first batter was John Scott and he struck out. The
second batter was Hector Torres and he struck out. The third batter was Doug
Ault and he forever etched himself in Blue Jays’ lore when he drove a pitch
from Sox hurler Ken Brett over the wall in right field for the first hit, first
home run, first run scored and first RBI in franchise history.
The
White Sox improved their lead to 4-1 in the top of the second, but Toronto got
one back in the bottom half when Pedro Garcia singled in Alvin Woods. In the
bottom of the third, Ault came to the plate for the second time, this time with
a runner on base (Torres). Ault further cemented his Blue Jays’ legacy when he
drilled another Ken Brett pitch over the wall for his second home run of the
day: game tied 4-4.
Toronto
would take a 5-4 lead in the fourth when Canadian-born Dave McKay singled in
Garcia, and would add another two in the fifth when Woods drilled a home run
with Velez on base: Blue Jays up, 7-4. The White Sox would cut the lead to 7-5
when they scored in the sixth.
The
Jays added some insurance runs in the eighth. Doug Ault (who else) singled in
Scott for his fourth RBI of the game, and then Jim Mason would score the final
run of the game on a double play ground out by Gary Woods. Final Score:
Toronto-9, Chicago-5.
Jerry
Johnson would pitch 2 2/3 innings of relief to pick up the victory while Ken
Brett (brother of Kansas City Royals’ great, George Brett, by the way) would be
saddled with the loss. The first save in Jays’ history would be picked up by
Pete Vuckovich who pitched both the eighth and ninth innings.
The
crowd of 44,649 in attendance included my Uncle Jeff (my dad's brother) and his two sons, Jeff Jr
and Richard. I wish I could say I was there as well but I was only seventeen
months old at the time. However, all who attended the game would receive a
memory that they will (or would) never forget. The Jays were on the scene and
sports in Toronto would never be the same.
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