Jacques Doucet, known as the “Voice of the Expos”, died at 86 last week, his daughter Martine confirmed on social media. Doucet spent 33 years as the beloved French language play-by-play broadcaster for the Expos and served as a pivotal figure in popularizing the French vocabulary used to describe baseball.
A cause of death was not disclosed, but Doucet revealed in 2024 that he was battling Alzheimer’s disease. The Blue Jays honored him with a moment of silence before last Friday’s game against the Mariners.
“We join the MLB community and our colleagues at TVA Sports in extending our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jacques Doucet,” the Blue Jays wrote in a statement. “The ‘Voice of Baseball’ in Quebec and a Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer - his impact on the game and the Montreal Expos will be remembered forever.”
Born in Montreal in 1940, Doucet got his start as a sports journalist with The Canadian Press and later covered the Expos' first years for La Presse. He became the club’s full-time French-language radio voice in 1972 and stayed in the role until the franchise left to become the Washington Nationals following the 2004 season.
Doucet then called independent league games for the Quebec Capitales, a member of the Can-Am League, from 2006 until 2011. An opportunity to return to the Major Leagues arose, and Doucet continued his career as the French broadcaster of Blue Jays games from 2011 until his retirement in 2022.
Among more than 5,500 MLB broadcasts, Doucet was on hand for the Expos’ 1981 NLCS run and two perfect games: Dennis Martinez in 1991, for the Expos against the Dodgers, and David Cone in 1999, for the Yankees against the Expos. He also provided French-language broadcasts for World Series games from 1982 through 1999.
Doucet additionally wrote several books, including “Les Secrets du baseball” with former Major League pitcher Claude Raymond and “Il était une fois les Expos,” a history of the franchise co-written with Marc Robitaille.
Doucet’s illustrious career featured an induction to the Expos’ Hall of Fame in 2003, the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020. He also received the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award in 2004 and was a finalist for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award on multiple occasions.