“It was the Lord’s will. We weren’t meant to win,” said Montreal outfielder Andre Dawson moments after his team lost a crushing Game 5 in the 1981 National League Championship Series. The mood was funereal in the Expos clubhouse at Olympic Stadium on Monday, October 19, following a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In what has become known as “Blue Monday,” the Expos were beaten on a home run by LA’s Rick Monday in the top of the ninth inning. The death-blow came off Steve Rogers, appearing in relief in an attempt to preserve a 1-1 tie.
“I feel like I was one pitch away from delivering a fairy tale season,” a visibly irritated Rogers told reporters at his locker, following the ace’s first relief appearance in five years.
Future Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter is also seen in this video footage, in an interview about the defeat. It was the closest the Montreal Expos ever came to winning a pennant.
Andre Dawson Explains the Sadness of Losing Game 5 in 1981
RELATED
Baseball’s Ultimate Games >
Montreal Expos All-Time Team >
20 Greatest Expos of All-Time >
