From 1987 through 2002, no Pearson Cup contest was held, and there was not much official discussion of its resurrection. The Jays and Expos faced off occasionally in pre-season games, but it wasn’t until 1997 that the two Canadian teams would see each other again during the regular season.
THe FOunding of Interleague Play
1997 was the year the MLB introduced Interleague Play: games between American League and National League teams that counted toward the standings. Prior to 1997 teams from opposing leagues only played one another in the World Series or in exhibition games, while representatives from either side faced each other at the All-Star Game. On June 30, 1997, the Expos and Jays played one another at SkyDome, the first time the two had faced off for any kind of stakes since 1986. In a three-game series, the Expos took two out of three at SkyDome. Despite the fact that only two Canadian players were in attendance during the series (Toronto Blue Jays’ relief pitchers Paul Spoljaric of Kelowna, BC and Paul Quantrill of London, ON), the fans at SkyDome were enthusiastic for a Canadian rivalry. From 1997-2002, the Jays and Expos competed in ten series, with Toronto taking 18 games to Montréal’s 13.
While the two Canadian teams played each other 31 times after the introduction of Interleague Play, the Pearson Cup trophy was not awarded for any of these games. Finally after 6 seasons of playing each other during the regular season, the Pearson Cup was taken out of storage. In 2003, 17 seasons after it was last awarded, the Pearson Cup was back on.
