In a short few years before a sea of blue met every home Toronto Blue Jays game, you couldn’t pay most people to head to the ballpark. What changed? Sportswriters Shi Davidi and John Lott nail the tipping point for the Toronto Blue Jays – their 2013 season – in ECW Press book Great Expectations: The Lost Toronto Blue Jays Season. Our conversation with former ECW publisher Jack David shows that when book folks are also keen sports fans, they can find and publish a story as it happens.
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To celebrate Canada150, we’re turning the page on the most celebrated historical moments and highlighting the footnotes for a change. Take a trip down literary lane with us as we share books on aspects of Canadian history and notable people that don’t always get due attention.ECW’s Jack David tells us the publishing story behind Great Expectations, and why he thinks it doesn’t make the grade for historical review:ALU: What brought you to publish Great Expectations?JD: I felt that with the acquisition of R.A. Dickey, and the trade with the Florida Marlins to bring in Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle, that the Blue Jays were ready to take a leap and become contenders. So I thought about the beat writers who followed the team, and contacted John Lott (then writing for the Post). He was interested but requested a co-writer, namely Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. That team seemed solid, so we negotiated and came to an agreement. I hoped that in following the Jays from spring training onwards, that we’d get a close-up of the season, and maybe the post season, and maybe – just maybe – the World Series. Alas, it was not to be but our title was designed to cover either result.​ALU: What impact do you think this work has on Canadian culture/history? JD: Not much. For Jays fans, reading the book will allow them to re-live the year, and learn about some behind-the-scenes action. If baseball is culture, then the book will have some impact.​* * *Thanks so much to Jack David for answering our questionnaire, and to David Caron for facilitating. (And by the way, totally). Buy a copy of Great Expectations and get a 2017 poster-calendar for free!There’s just one day left of #ALUneverforget picks on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Don’t forget to check out our history timeline showcasing still more books that tell Canadian history like it is, or should we say, was.
