Vermont Expos

History

The Vermont Expos were preceded by several earlier Burlington minor league teams, including a Burlington club in the Northeastern League in 1887, a Burlington team in the Northern New York League from 1903 to 1905, the Burlington Burlingtons of the Vermont State League and New Hampshire State League in 1907, and the Burlington A's of the Provincial League in 1955. After a gap of nearly 30 years, the Vermont Reds and Vermont Mariners of the Eastern League played from 1984 to 1988.

Montreal Expos (1993–2004)

In 1993, Burlington businessman Ray Pecor, Jr., owner of Lake Champlain Transportation Company since 1976, purchased the Jamestown Expos and moved the franchise to Burlington, keeping the Expos name. The Vermont Expos debuted at Centennial Field on June 16, 1994, with over 5,000 spectators attending a 6–5 loss to the Pittsfield Mets. Following the Montreal Expos' announcement on September 29, 2004, that they would move to Washington, D.C., after the 2004 season, Vermont retained the Expos nickname for 2005 because Minor League Baseball gives clubs 60 days after the season to change names and logos, and the team lacked time for an identity change.

Washington Nationals (2005–2010)

During 2005, the club solicited fan suggestions for a new name, receiving 30,000 entries. The winning name was "Champs," but management deemed it inappropriate since the team had not made the playoffs since 1996. On November 15, 2005, the new name "Lake Monsters" was announced, along with new colors of navy blue, Columbia blue, and lime green, replacing the Expos' red, white, and blue. The name references Champ, the legendary Lake Champlain monster that had been the team's mascot since 1994.

The last game as the Vermont Expos was on September 8, 2005, and the team opened the 2006 season as the Vermont Lake Monsters. On July 22, 2005, the Vermont Expos held their first "Tribute to the Expos" promotion and honored Andre Dawson at Centennial Field.

Playoffs

The Vermont Expos reached the playoffs in 1995 and 1996. In 1995, they defeated Hudson Valley 2–0 in the semifinals but lost to Watertown 2–1 in the finals. In 1996, they defeated Pittsfield 2–0 in the semifinals and beat St. Catharines 2–1 to win the championship.