CANADIAN FAVORITE CURTIS PRIDE PENS BOOK
By Jeff Moeller /
Curtis Pride’s groundbreaking MLB playing career began in Canada. It is something the popular former Expos outfielder takes great pride in.
It is also something he looks back fondly upon.
“I love Canada and go back to visit whenever I can. Great people, beautiful countryside, and my favorite place in the world to fish,” Pride told baseballhalloffame.ca.
“Montreal will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s where I made my Major League debut and the people there have always treated me like one of their own. Montreal fans are so knowledgeable and have so much respect for the game; I will never forget the way they made me feel that night at Olympic Stadium when I got my first hit, realizing a lifelong dream.”
Two stints in Montreal and a stop in Ottawa, at the minor league level, are among the highlights of Pride’s professional baseball journey, which spanned more than 400 big league contests over a 23-year playing career.
Now a resident of Florida, Pride visited Canada back in March in support of his new book. At the Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore on McGill College Avenue in Montreal, he met Canadian baseball fans of all ages.
“It was very special because the fans in Montreal were part of the inspiration for the book. When I became an author, one of the first places I wanted to go for a book signing event was Montreal, and the people were as wonderful as ever. The title of my book, “I Felt the Cheers,” is essentially a response to the baseball fans of Montreal who were at Olympic Stadium when I got my first hit –a double – back in 1993. I was a September callup and had only been with Montreal a short time but everyone in attendance that night knew that I was the first deaf player to reach the big leagues in a half-century and knew how much playing for the Expos meant to me.
“They wanted to let me know how much they appreciated what I had accomplished, so as I stood on second base they gave me a standing ovation and kept cheering, louder and louder. I never did hear them, of course, but Montreal fans have so much love for the game they wanted me to feel that love, too, so they kept cheering until the stadium began to shake, a feeling I will never forget. I want everyone in Canada to know I Felt the Cheers.”
What of course helps make Pride unique, in baseball circles in particular, is he is the first and only deaf player in the contemporary history of Major League Baseball. That helped make the now 56-year old Pride a fan favorite at Olympic Stadium.
He writes about his unique journey in I Felt the Cheers, The Remarkable Silent Life of Curtis Pride, a new book he penned to describe his unique journey, which began when he made his debut with the Expos in 1993.
At the time of his initial recall, Pride was a member of the triple-A Lynx. As much as he enjoyed playing then in Canada’s Capital City, he will never forget receiving the news from then Lynx skipper Mike Quade.
Pride immediately called him to tell his family the good news. He writes in the book:
“Guess what?” I remember asking my father on the TTY machine, before answering my own question. “I just got called up to the majors.” Again, called up. And once again, it was fitting because my spirit was soaring, and I was floating on air like one of those oversized balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
My dad was speechless. I remembered how he had taken the time to explain the rules of the game to his eager but naive six-year-old son. Now, it was my turn to explain to him how big-league baseball worked.
“I got the call last night,” I said. “They want me to be in uniform today.”
“The best phone call I ever got,” my dad told me later.
Pride said he always had the support of his family, and his father in particular.
“When I was playing baseball people would come up to me and ask if I had a book,” Pride said. “I would ask myself why they would ask but they wanted to know more about overcoming my disabilities to make my dream come true. Now my book can inspire many people that anything is possible.”
Unfortunately, John Lewis Pride passed away while Curtis was crafting his autobiography, which was released in February.
“It was important for me to finish the book because my parents are my biggest role models,” he continued. “They made a lot of decisions that impacted my life. It was important for me to tell my story and to tell what they have done.”
A father himself now, the book recounts a variety of interesting stories – from Pride meeting Muhammad Ali while a member of the Angels – to playing against Michael Jordan in pick-up basketball games while Air Jordan was attempting his own pro baseball career.
And, of course, Pride recounts many tales from his original squad – Les Expos de Montréal – writing of his debut:
Before I could pull up the chair in front of my locker and change into my first big league uniform, some of the Expos’ biggest stars reached out to me.
“Welcome to the Expos,” Marquis Grissom said, as he shook my hand. “I know all about you and I’m impressed with what you have accomplished.”
Other veterans like Larry Walker, and Delino DeShields offered up similar sentiments. They treated me like I was already one of the guys, and I really appreciated that. But inside, I didn’t feel like one of the guys. Not yet anyway. Since I joined my first T-ball team, my goal had always been to fit in with others and prove I belonged. I always loved being around people, and more than anything, I wanted people to love being around me, too.
Profoundly deaf since birth, Pride can read lips and learned American Sign Language as an adult. A former member of the Expos, Angels, Yankees, Braves, Red Sox and Tigers, Pride touches countless people with his status as a role model, on and off the field.
One more thing Pride would like to see is for MLB to return to The City of Saints.
“There has been serious talk in recent years about Major League Baseball returning to Montreal, and nothing would thrill me more. I believe Montreal should be on the top of the list for Major League Baseball’s next expansion or relocation. It’s been two decades since the Expos played their last game and left Canada to become the Washington Nationals, yet there is still a loyal fan base in Montreal who love the team more than ever.
“Whenever I meet someone from Montreal, they ask me if I think baseball will come back. No city deserves a team more than Montreal and I believe it will happen someday. When it does, I will be there, feeling the cheers – and the love the city has for baseball – once again,” he said.
“And I plan to return to Montreal soon for another book signing to accommodate the many fans who were unable to attend the event in Montreal earlier this year.”
Story features excerpts from the book. Highlighted by a foreword written by Hall of Fame legend Cal Ripken Jr. and co-written by Doug Ward, it is published by New York-based Kensington. It is available where books are purchased.
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