June 9, 2021

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Bill Virdon is the answer to this trivia question: who is the oldest surviving Montreal Expos manager?

Virdon turns 90 June 9 so we wish him Happy Birthday.

Virdon spent close to two seasons as the Expos skipper in 1983-84 before being replaced by Jim Fanning near the end of the 1984 season.

Virdon never managed again, although he applied for a number of managerial openings later on.

After Virdon completed a long run as Houston Astros manager in the 1970s and early 1980s, he was fired and interviewed for the vacant Expos' position following the 1982 season,

The 1983 Expos were one of the best in franchise history. They even held the lead in the NL East for some time but they faded and finished a disappointing 82-80.

If there was a country-club atmosphere under Fanning, Virdon got rid of it fast. Players weren't used to a manager forcing drills on them until they were ready to drop. He also disliked facial hair on players but Jeff Reardon convinced Virdon that his beard was a necessary component of his closer mentality.

"I made them (players) work,'' Virdon told me in an interview a few years ago. "I enjoyed it in Montreal. We had several pretty good clubs with guys like Andre Dawson, Gary Carter and Tim Raines. I'm proud of my time in Montreal. I have no regrets.''

In a recent Zoom call involving the Larry Dierker Houston SABR chapter, I connected and asked special guest Virdon, who was the best player he managed while with the Expos. He replied, "Dawson.''

In this late stage in his life, Virdon is happy that his life story is being presented by biographer David Jerome in a book that has a working title of Virdon: I Guess I Did That.

The book is due to McFarland Publishing by Sept. 30 and Jerome is hopeful that the book will be available to the public by the beginning of the 2022 season. Jerome said he talked with former Expos Al Oliver, Steve Rogers and Mike Stenhouse.