Jacques Doucet, a prominent broadcaster known for his French-language radio commentary for the Montreal Expos, passed away on Thursday evening, as confirmed by his family on Friday. He was 86 years old. In 2024, Doucet disclosed his battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Doucet was born on March 8, 1940, in Montreal. His journalism career began with the Canadian Press before transitioning to sports reporting. When Montreal received a Major League Baseball team franchise in 1968, Doucet was assigned by La Presse to cover the Expos. He also took on the role of official scorer at Jarry Park. During the inaugural 1969 season, Doucet made occasional radio appearances, substituting on the Expos’ French broadcasts.

In 1972, Doucet became the full-time French-language play-by-play announcer for the Expos. He maintained this role for 33 seasons, up to the team’s final game in Montreal in 2004. Over his career, Doucet called more than 5,500 major league games, including postseason and World Series broadcasts in French. He became known for developing baseball terminology in French, aiding in creating a sport vocabulary in Quebec when much of baseball’s language came from English.

After the Expos relocated to Washington in 2004, Doucet continued his broadcasting career. He worked with the Quebec Capitales from 2006 to 2011 before joining TVA Sports, where he called Toronto Blue Jays games in French. His accolades included induction into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, the Montreal Expos Hall of Fame in 2003, and receiving the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award in 2004. Doucet was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.

Doucet’s passing occurs five months following the death of Rodger Brulotte, his longtime broadcasting teammate. Together, they were pivotal figures in French-language baseball broadcasts, cherished by generations of fans in Quebec.

On Friday, the Blue Jays honored Doucet on Twitter/X, stating: “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Jacques Doucet’s family and friends, joining the MLB community and our colleagues at TVA Sports. A Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer, the ‘Voice of Baseball’ in Quebec—his contributions to the game and the Montreal Expos will be everlasting.”

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