Blue Jays Win Debut in Snow (4/7/1977)

By Patrick Mondout

Two new expansion teams debuted in the 1977 season: the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners lost their opener inside the new Kingdome on April 6 (boxscore) while the Blue Jays opened the following day at Exhibition Stadium after a snowstorm (boxscore).

The stadium dated back to 1879, but many improvements had been made since the last major renovation in the late 1950s. Unfortunately those improvements were still ongoing when the Jays left their spring training home of Dunedin, Florida in early April. Painters, plumbers, other workers, and an announced crowd of 44,649 greeted the new team in their refurbished stadium on April 7, 1977.

The Jays opponent was the Chicago White Sox, who famously wore shorts the previous season. They needed parkas in the unheated visitor's clubhouse, which did not even have running hot water. When Jays' GM Peter Bavasi was asked the previous day whether the cold forecast of 37 degrees would postpone the game, he replied, "Only snow can stop us." But with Bowie Kuhn catching a late flight from Seattle (where he saw the first Mariners game) and so many anxious to see major league baseball in Toronto, the game went ahead despite overnight snow and near-freezing conditions. 

One local writer complained that he endured conditions that "would have kept me away from a hockey game" to attend the history-making opener. The hockey analogy was spot on as the grounds crew had to borrow a Zamboni machine from Maple Leaf Gardens to clear the infield of snow before the game!

The teams combined for 31 hits and 14 runs and "only" three errors. Considering the Blue Jays were a very young team and that they were playing on a very cold and slick Astroturf field, the three errors (all by the Jays) is remarkable.

Bill Singer threw the first official pitch in Blue Jays history - a ball - to Ralph Garr, who subsequently walked. Garr stole second and Jays' catcher Rick Cerone was charged with an error on the wild throw to shortstop Hector Torres that let Garr take third. After Alan Bannister flew out to right, Jorge Orta's sacrificed fly brought Garr home. Richie Zisk, who would finish the day a triple away from a cycle, followed with a solo shot and the Sox led heading into the bottom of the inning 2-0.

After Sox starter Ken Brett struck out both John Scott and Hector Torres to start the bottom of the first, Jays fans could be forgiven for thinking it would be a long and painful first season, but first baseman Doug Ault hit a solo shot to give the chilled Toronto fans their first thrill.

By the time Ault, who had been taken from the Texas Rangers in the expansion draft, came to bat in the bottom of the third, the Sox had a 4-2 lead. He instantly became a fan favorite by driving a Brett fastball deep to left to tie the game at 4.

The '77 Blue Jays media guide. Exhibition Stadium - site of the yearly Canadian National Exhibition in August - in on the lower left.

Both starters had been chased when rookie Alvis Woods pinch hit for Hector Torrez in the bottom of the fifth with the Jays up 5-4. With Otto Velez on base after singling and stealing second, Woods hit the first major league pitch he ever saw for a home run to widen the lead to 7-4.

Doug Ault came to the plate in the eighth with two on and lined a single to center off Lerrin LaGrow scoring John Scott and giving him four RBIs. This made him an early Rookie of the Year candidate. Indeed, a first baseman would win AL Rookie of the Year and later make it to the Hall of Fame. But that was Eddie Murray. Ault finished the season with career highs in most categories and tying Ron Fairly for the team lead in RBIs and made the Topps Rookie All-Star team. Ault was a career minor leaguer (both as a player and later manager) after 1980 and died at age 54 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound (story).

Future Cy Young award winner Pete Vuckovich pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the save - the first of only 10 he would ever record.

Despite 7 walks and 15 hits, the Sox managed only 5 runs and left 19 runners on base - one short of the then-AL record.

Though the Blue Jays would continue to play without a roof until the Skydome opened in June of 1989, they never had a game postponed due to snow.