Blue Monday book helps massage fan’s psyche about Oct. 19, 1981

Blue Monday still haunts passionate Montreal Expos fan Lisa Hunter (right), shown here with Tim Wallach at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., in 2014. Photo: Lisa Hunter

October 18, 2019

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

A profile note on her Twitter and Facebook handles says she's the "Interim manager of the Montreal Expos.''

The Expos have been gone since 2004 but Lisa Hunter has her former team stamped on her heart, even if Blue Monday on Oct. 19, 1981 left her terribly heartbroken, especially since she would run into Jim Fanning often in the tiny village of Dorchester located near London, Ont. where Fanning lived for years.

Fanning was the manager of the Expos when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat them in Game 5 of the best-of-five NLCS so when Hunter would run into Fanning, she was left with a somewhat surreal feeling. When she read my book Blue Monday, Hunter felt her beaten psyche from that memorable day had been massaged.

Rick Monday’s game-winning homer 38 years ago still leaves many Montreal fans reeling.

"It may sound bizarre but that book was therapy for me because it was a difficult topic for me,'' Hunter told me in an interview. "That topic became harder on me in later years when I married and moved to Gladstone, just five minutes from Dorchester.

"I would run into Jim Fanning all the time in Dorchester, either at the dentist’s office, the post office, or the grocery store and we would always chat - he always had time for me. I didn't see him as much, once he moved into London.

"I really adored Jim and respected him as a person so I took it personally when he was criticized by some for his decisions on that Blue Monday and over how Bill Lee treated him. There were a lot of variables of what happened that day and some things that were not revealed until many years later. As with any big decision, sometimes it doesn’t work out. That is life but it was still hard to see how it unfolded.''

Hunter said she wasn't sure she was going to read Blue Monday right away. Other people have told me the same thing, that reading Blue Monday would be too heartbreaking for them.

"I immediately read it and barely put it down,'' Hunter said. "I totally loved the direction you took on it. I love how you took on the point of view of players and how they saw it. That is what a story is about. I already know the details but you told of young Fernando (Valenzuela) experiencing Montreal snowflakes and catching them with his tongue.

"And how you talked about Rick Monday, about his father and saving the American flag -- things I did not know. I hope it made people realize that Rick was a person, too, because I know a lot of people hated him but he was just doing his job. I never held any grudges against him and always respected him as a player. So I really appreciated you taking so much time on that side of the story. This is the type of reading I want.''

Hunter has bumped into Fanning's son Frank from time to time over the years. Ditto for Fanning's daughter Cynthia.

Hunter said Jeff Cordell, a teacher at Northdale Central school in Dorchester, always asks about Frank. Cordell was Frank’s Grade 8 teacher.

"I keep Mr. Cordell up to date from what I last heard ,'' Hunter said. "I am sure Frank would be pleased because I know he really liked ved Mr. Cordell. I met Cynthia twice. She had just graduated from the University of Waterloo. Jim was so proud of her, telling me about it.

"I haven’t been to St Marys since,'' Hunter said. "I know that they had a tribute at the hall for Jim and Frank spoke but I just could not do it. I knew I would end up crying. I just can’t seem to get there yet emotionally. Steve Rogers is there almost every year so I have met him many times too, which further makes me sensitive of comments about Blue Monday about him. It breaks my heart that he has had to take on the burden of its outcome.''

Like Hunter and many other Expos fans know, Blue Monday was heart wrenching but you have to understand that the Expos finally made the playoffs after 12 seasons of no-nos. My book deals with a lot of highlights from the regular season and the playoffs.

"So many books on sports figures or topics do not get into the real nitty gritty of what that player was feeling or seeing visually at that particular moment in time -- that is what I want to see in a sports book,’’ Hunter said.

"I want to know what was going through their heads at that time and the revisited thoughts after so many years. I finished your book without crying about what could have been and maybe accepting Blue Monday with a smile that it was indeed a wonderful ride for those few weeks of post-season ball.

"With this book, I was able to embrace that day a bit better and maybe not be so protective of Jim and Steve - that I shouldn’t be so defensive on the topic and celebrate the achievement itself. I wanted you to know how much of an impact the book had on me and how you took on a topic that has been extremely emotional for the fans - it has enabled us to maybe smile & celebrate it and not to maybe push it way.''

Danny Gallagher is signing copies of his book Genius at Chapters in the Quinte Mall in Belleville, Ont. on Sunday, Oct. 20 from 11:30-3.