CSL to name main baseball field at Trudeau Park after Gary Carter

The City of Côte Saint-Luc will name its primary baseball field at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park after Montreal Expos legend Gary Carter.

Mayor Anthony Housefather made the announcement during a Gary Carter Tribute at the annual Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors Sports Celebrity Breakfast. He was joined on stage by other members of the Côte Saint-Luc city council and Johnny Elias, who had Carter as his guest for more than a decade at his Grand Slam Baseball School in Côte Saint-Luc. I was one of the organizers of the Breakfast and co-emcee and as a city councillor in CSL myself I felt the timing for this announcement was perfect. It came after Annakin Slayd played his emotional new Gary Carter video and former Warren Cromartie spoke eloquently about the man we called "the Kid."

Here is a clip from the big screen of Cro, who got all choked up:

“We communicated with the Carter family in recent weeks and they have given us their blessing,” Mayor Housefather said. “It was fitting for us to make the official announcement at an event like the Sports Celebrity Breakfast where so many of Gary Carter’s admirers were on hand. Johnny Elias is also a long time resident of our community and we thank him for the many years in which he ran a baseball school in Côte Saint-Luc where Expos such as Gary Carter came to share their skills and expertise.”

Here is a fabulous report on the Breakfast and the CSL announcement by CTV's Brian Wilde:

As the Côte Saint-Luc Councillor responsible for naming opportunities, I was happy to spearhead this move with the blessing of the mayor and my colleagues. I also had the good fortune of getting to know Gary Carter on a personal basis when I covered the Expos for the local media. He was the ultimate gentleman. I remember being in his presence when he attended the Grand Slam Baseball School sessions in Côte Saint-Luc. Here he was, the most popular player to ever wear the Expos uniform and the most highly paid at the time. He spent several hours on the day of a game working with young kids on their baseball skills. He never said ‘no’ when Johnny Elias called for his help.

Mayor Housefather said that a formal ceremony for the naming of the field will be held at a later date.