Before Major League Baseball expanded to Montreal in 1969, there were minor league teams in Montréal and they were usually named the "Royals." This was a reference to Mount Royal (French: Mont Royal), which is located west of today's downtown and after which the city was named.The Montréal Expos (French: Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team there. They were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States.
The Expos were named in honor of Expo 67, which was the World's Fair (exposition) held two years before the Expos began play.
They played in the National League (NL) East Division from 1969 until 2004. They had no World Series Titles, but had one National League Pennant in 1994 and played in one Playoff in 1981. Their top franchise players were Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers, Rusty Staub, and Jose Vidro.
Following the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals and the "Expos" name was retired.
Montréal currently has no MLB team. The Kansas City Royals team name has no connection to the old Montréal teams by that name.
