Former Major League Baseball pitcher Bill Lee, who played for the Montreal Expos and the Boston Redsox, will be a special guest at the annual Côte Saint-Luc Golf Classic on Thursday, July 6. Starting times for the nine-hole Meadowbrooke Golf Course are from 7 am to 10 am. A buffet luncheon follows at the Côte Saint-Luc Aquatic and Community Centre (5794 Parkhaven Ave) at 1 pm. In the event of strong rain, the luncheon will still take place as scheduled, but the tournament will be rescheduled for Tuesday, July 11, with the same starting times.

Johnny Elias, a long-time volunteer and past owner of the Grand Slam Baseball School, wil be this year’s honouree. Elias has recently agreed to loan nearly 50 years’ worth of baseball memorabilia to Côte Saint-Luc. The city will announce its plans at the luncheon on where the items will be showcased. Elias will be inducted into the RDS Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in November.

I am proud to once again be co-chairing this event with Councillor Sam Goldbloom.

Elias and Bill Lee have a friendship that goes back decades. After Lee was released by the Expos in 1982, Elias was the first person to call and offer him a job as a teacher at his Grand Slam Baseball School. Lee has been the subject of several books and movies. A motion picture starring Josh Duhamel in the title role called Spaceman was released last year. Lee travels the country as a guest speaker and still pitches at the age of 71. Last year he ran for Governor of Vermont. He can be heard regularly on Melnick in the Afternoon on TSN 690 Radio.

Johnny Elias is a legend. We are so excited to have Bill Lee with us. He is one of baseball’s most colourful characters.”

Lee will be the guest speaker at the luncheon. Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein and Councillor Allan J. Levine have invited Lee to come swim with him at the Aquatic and Community Centre on Parkhaven Avenue.

The Golf Classic has been sold out for months, Marc Ezerzer from the Côte Saint-Luc-based Vantage Mortgage and Real Estate Group is one of this year`s new sponsors. He also provided caps and golf balls for the participants. On Thursday evening, July 6 (7 pm) Bill Lee will play for Team Ezerzer in the Côte Saint-Luc Executive Softball League on Field 3 at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park. Ezerzer got special permission to add Lee to the roster for one game.

The organizers also wish to thank Hotel Ruby Foo’s on Decarie for their support.

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