Montrealers wishing to pay their respects to Rodger Brulotte, the beloved voice of baseball in the province who passed away last month at age 79, can do so this week.
Members of the public are invited to a viewing at IGA Stadium on Thursday from 12-7 p.m.
Brulotte’s family members and loved ones will be on hand.
People are being encouraged to wear the colours of their favourite sports teams “in remembrance of Rodger’s passions.”
READ: Rodger Brulotte, beloved voice of baseball in Quebec, dies at 79
A private, invitation-only event at a funeral home will be held Friday. On Saturday, a funeral ceremony will take place at Sainte-Thérèse-d’Avila Church in Sainte-Thérèse.
Known for his signature home-run call “Bonsoir, elle est partie!” — which translates to “Good evening, it’s gone!” — Brulotte was a renowned broadcaster and columnist who could still be heard calling MLB games in French last summer on TVA Sports.
The Montreal-born Brulotte underwent surgery last September to remove a cancerous tumour from his back, but the disease returned in recent months.
He began working for the Montreal Expos as a scout in 1969 and later helped create the mascot “Youppi!” as a member of the club’s public relations and marketing staff.
The charismatic Brulotte went on to enjoy a long media career in radio and television, calling Expos and MLB games on CKAC — alongside legendary play-by-play announcer Jacques Doucet — as well as RDS and TVA Sports. He also wrote columns for the Journal de Montréal over the years.
Brulotte joined TVA Sports’ Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts in 2011. He famously shouted “Vladimir! Vladimir! Bonsoir!” when then-rising star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — whose father starred for the Expos — hit a walk-off home run in an exhibition game at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in 2018.
In addition to his work in the media, Brulotte was also at the heart of efforts to bring the Expos back to Montreal, working alongside former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre.
Brulotte also served as president of the Ligue de baseball junior élite du Québec for more than 10 years and was inducted into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame as a journalist in 2014.
In 2024, he received the Jacques-Beauchamp Tribute Award from Sports Québec as a builder.
–With files from The Canadian Press
