Description
2015 Jack Graney award winner.
Comes with a letter of authenticity.
Born in Montreal on August 1, 1952, Touchette fell in love with baseball the first time he saw Giants superstar Willie Mays play on TV in the 1960?s. He began covering the Montreal Expos as a reporter for Le Journal de Montr?al in 1975 and remained on the Expos beat, with the exception of a six-week period in 1999 in which he served as a columnist, until the club moved to Washington in 2004.
During his tenure covering the Expos, he was on hand to document the club?s sole playoff appearance in 1981, Dennis Martinez?s perfect game on July 28, 1991, Gary Carter?s last season in 1992 and Vladimir Guerrero?s entire record-breaking tenure with the club.
Touchette was also a fixture in the press box during the Expos? 1994 campaign that saw the club compile a 74-40 record to sit six games atop the National League East division before a players? strike wiped out the rest of the season. He was also present at the Expos? last game at Olympic Stadium on September 29, 2004.
While on the Expos beat, Touchette also served tenures as the president of the Montreal chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) and vice-president of the national (Canadian) BBWAA. He was also a generous mentor to up-and-coming sportswriters, including Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Bob Elliott.
?A versatile journalist, Touchette has covered more than 20 World Series, The Masters, two Olympics, three Super Bowls and several Stanley Cup Finals. He currently writes for the NHL?s website.
Through it all, baseball has remained Touchette?s No. 1 passion and for his efforts, he was inducted into Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.
