R.I.P. Leo Kolber

Leo Kolber (left) takes in a Montreal Expos game in 1987 with former prime minster Pierre-Elliott Trudeau. Photo : From Leo Kolber’s biography, Leo : A Life, McGill-Queen's University Press)

January 10, 2020

RIP Leo Kolber: Montreal businessman tried to get Reggie for the Expos

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

When the Montreal Expos tried to land free agent Reggie Jackson in November of 1976, Leo Kolber was front and centre.

Kolber was a good friend of Expos majority owner Charles Bronfman and decided to help general manager John McHale in the negotiations for Jackson.

Jackson came to Montreal one weekend and was courted by the Expos at a number of functions, including a lavish party. One night, Kolber and McHale tried to hammer out a deal with Jackson. The offer was a five-year deal for a little less than $5-million. Pretty good cash for those days.

Apparently, Jackson came to the meeting looking and feeling like death warmed over as I reported in my book Blue Monday.

"Reggie had a terrible hangover,'' Kolber said in his autobiography, Leo, A Life. "He needed a hair of the dog.''

Rather than seeking another alcoholic drink, Jackson looked at Kolber's son Jonathan and said, "Hey, make me a milkshake but it has to have eggs in it.''

In the end, Jackson turned down Kolber and McHale and signed a deal with the Yankees for less money.

Kolber, 90, died Jan. 9 at his home in Montreal. He was a one-time member of the Expos board of directors and was close to Bronfman since their teen years.

Kolber was a widely respected member of Montreal's Jewish community and was appointed a Canadian Senator later in life. He was a member of a number of Bronfman-affiliated companies, including Claridge Inc. and Seagram.

Kolber was president of CEMP Investments and the Cadillac Fairview Corp., spearheading a number of ventures such as the Toronto TD Centre and the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Kolber leaves behind his wife Roni, his daughter Lynne, son Jonathan and many other relatives.