R.I.P. Jacques Doucet, legendary Expos broadcaster

Legendary Montreal Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet has died at the age of 86.

August 28, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Legendary Montreal Expos broadcaster and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Jacques Doucet has died at the age of 86.

Doucet’s daughter, Martine, confirmed her father’s passing on social media on Friday morning.

Doucet, who had been battling various health issues including Alzheimer’s disease, died on Thursday evening.

“Jacques Doucet was the French voice of the Montreal Expos for over three decades. Along the way, he invented a whole new glossary of baseball terms to help French-speaking fans understand the game and called virtually every meaningful game in Expos’ history,” said the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in a statement on Friday.

“In more recent years, he broadcast Blue Jays games in French and by the time he retired in 2022, he had called more than 5,500 big league games. Jacques was also a strong supporter of baseball at the grassroots level in Quebec. He had a tremendous impact on the sport in our country and he will be deeply missed. We would like to offer our condolences to his family and friends.”

Born in Montreal on March 8, 1940, Doucet served as an Expos beat reporter for La Presse from the time the franchise was awarded to the city in 1968 to 1971. He began performing play-by-play for the Expos’ French language radio broadcasts in 1972 and continued for 33 seasons. For many years, Doucet also broadcast major league playoff and World Series games in French.

Along the way, Doucet was credited with creating a glossary of baseball terms to help French-speaking fans understand the game. For many in Quebec, it was Doucet, through his skillful broadcasting, who taught them baseball.

In a Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Zoom call in February 2022, Doucet counted the 1982 All-Star Game in Montreal and the two perfect games he called – Expos ace Dennis Martinez‘s masterpiece against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28, 1991 and New York Yankees right-hander David Cone‘s flawless performance against the Expos on July 18, 1999 – as career highlights.

After the Expos left for Washington following the 2004 season, Doucet continued his broadcast career in his home province, calling games for the independent Can-Am League’s Quebec Capitales from 2006 to 2011. Starting in 2011, he called Toronto Blue Jays games in French for TVA Sports until he retired in 2022.

For his efforts, he was inducted into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Montreal Expos Hall of Fame in 2003. The following year, he won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award, which is handed out annually by the Hall to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work.

Doucet was also a finalist for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for broadcasting excellence, several times, including most recently in 2024.

Jacques Doucet (middle), at his Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, with Fergie Jenkins (left) and Canadian ball hall board chair Jeremy Diamond (right). Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

In 2020, he was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Usually the [Canadian Baseball] Hall of Fame is for former players or former executives, very few broadcasters are in there, and I think I’m going to be the first French broadcaster. So, to me, it’s a very, very big honour,” Doucet said of his Canadian ball election in February 2022. “I did not expect it. When Scott [Crawford] called me and told me about it, I said, ‘Are you pulling my leg?’ But he said, ‘No.’ And I can’t be grateful enough for the people that have voted me in.”

Doucet was also a strong supporter of baseball at the grassroots level in Quebec. At one point, he served as an ambassador for Baseball Quebec and was active in many fundraising activities for minor baseball teams in the province. He also served as an executive with the Quebec Junior Elite Baseball League from 2004 to 2010 and was involved in the Quebec Summer Games held in Longueuil in 2014.

Doucet’s death came just over five months after the passing of his longtime broadcast partner and fellow Jack Graney Award winner Rodger Brulotte, who died at age 79 on March 20.