Another link to the dearly-departed Montreal Expos has left this mortal coil.

The CANADIAN PRESS reports that John McHale, the first president of Canada’s National League franchise, died Thursday at the age of 86.

McHale was instrumental in bringing Major League Baseball to the Great White North, as he helped secure financial backing for Montreal’s expansion franchise. Right before the Expos hit the field in 1969, McHale left the commissioner’s office to become the team’s president, a position he held until 1986.

McHale already had previous experience with helping a major league club settle in a new market, as he was with the Braves organization when they moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966.

Now, McHale is gone - one more memory of the Expos extinguished.

Thank goodness Youppi is still around!