Long before celebrity attendance at sporting events became fashionable, Donald Sutherland did it with a style all his own.
The Canadian actor – who died Thursday at the age of 88 – was a big fan of the defunct Montreal Expos.
“We knew he was a passionate supporter. He always sat on the third base side of Olympic Stadium, about 10 rows from the field,” noted Richard Griffin, a longtime sports journalist and former Expos public relations director.
“After his cinema schedule, he did his summer schedule based on that of the Expos,” he added.
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Mr. Sutherland grew up in Nova Scotia and studied at the University of Toronto. He then attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
He became a respected actor and appeared in dozens of films, including Ordinary People, Animal House, and The Hunger Games.
The Expos, meanwhile, arrived in the National League in 1969, and Mr. Sutherland, who had a home in the Eastern Townships, immediately became an avid supporter of the club, said Mr. Griffin.
“He had achieved fame by then, but he was a quiet supporter,” he maintained. It wasn’t Drake. It was Donald Sutherland. »
The actor owned a yacht on the West Coast and often attended Expos games in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
“He wanted to be behind the scenes. He didn’t want to be the story, he wanted to see the story unfold,” said Mr. Griffin, a former “Toronto Star” columnist who now co-hosts the Exit Philosophy baseball podcast.
Serge Touchette covered the Expos for nearly 30 years for Le Journal de Montréal, but he never had the chance to speak to Donald Sutherland.
“He didn’t want to be interviewed at the time,” he wrote in a text message. We tried several times, but gave up. Too bad, because it would have been a great story. »
“When people think of famous fans, they think of people trying to be part of the show, but Donald never did that,” Mr. Griffin said.
NBC cameras spotted Donald Sutherland in the crowd as the Expos played the Philadelphia Phillies in May 1983.
“He’s one of the biggest Expos fans: Donald Sutherland,” commentator Bob Costas said at the time. He’s not the kind of celebrity who shows up to a World Series game and makes sure he’s seen by a TV camera. He is a legitimate admirer. »
For the club’s 20th anniversary in 1989, Donald Sutherland narrated a montage of Expos highlights.
The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and were renamed the Nationals, at which point Donald Sutherland stopped following the team, according to Richard Griffin.
“I don’t know where his love of baseball started, but I know it ended when the Expos left town. Like many other fans, he was devastated. »
The actor then looked at the Toronto Blue Jays, the only Canadian team in major league baseball since the departure of the Expos.
In an interview last October to discuss a postage stamp commemorating his career, he talked about the Blue Jays’ elimination in the first round of the playoffs.
“Of course my team is the Expos, but they’re gone. »