The Toronto Blue Jays are a Major League Baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, that began play in the American League in 1977. The American League voted to grant Toronto an expansion franchise on March 20, 1976, and the club won the World Series in 1992 and 1993.
The team plays its home games at Rogers Centre, at 1 Blue Jays Way in downtown Toronto, and Rogers Communications has owned all of the club since January 2004, according to the sources below. The history here follows how the franchise was awarded, where it played, who owned it, and how its seasons went, using sources that could be read.
How Toronto got a team
According to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), the American League voted 11 to 1 on March 20, 1976, to give Toronto its second expansion franchise, for an entrance fee of $7 million. A group led by Labatt Breweries held the franchise. Labatt could hold no more than 45 percent, the Montreal financier R. Howard Webster pledged another 45 percent, and Page Wadsworth of CIBC contributed the remaining 10 percent. Webster became chairman of Metro Baseball Ltd.
A naming contest drew more than 30,000 entries, according to SABR, and the name Blue Jays was announced on August 12, 1976. Roy Hartsfield was the first manager, hired by general manager Peter Bavasi.
Exhibition Stadium, 1977 to 1989
The first game was played on April 7, 1977, against the Chicago White Sox at Exhibition Stadium, beside Lake Ontario on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. Toronto won 9 to 5 in snowy conditions, and Major League Baseball reports the crowd as 44,649. The Exhibition grounds have their own article on this site, linked below. The club left Exhibition Stadium for a new domed ballpark in mid-season 1989.
SkyDome and Rogers Centre
According to Wikipedia’s article on the building, SkyDome opened with a grand opening show on June 3, 1989, and was the first stadium with a fully retractable motorized roof. The first Blue Jays game there was played on June 5, 1989. Rogers Communications bought the stadium in November 2004, and on February 2, 2005, the building was renamed Rogers Centre. The Rogers Centre article on this site covers the building itself.
World Series titles in 1992 and 1993
The Blue Jays won the American League East division for the first time in 1985, and again in 1989, 1991, 1992, and 1993, according to Wikipedia’s history of the club. They won the World Series in 1992 against the Atlanta Braves, four games to two, and in 1993 against the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to two. The same article describes them as the first team based outside the United States to win the Series. In 1994 a players’ strike ended the season in August.
Later seasons
The team did not return to the postseason for 22 years after 1993. It won the American League East in 2015 and clinched a Wild Card berth on October 2, 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic the team played home games in Buffalo in 2020 and in Dunedin, Florida, and Buffalo in 2021, and it returned fully to Toronto in 2022. In 2025 the Blue Jays reached the World Series and lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7, played in Toronto, 5 to 4 in 11 innings, according to ESPN.
Ownership timeline
| Date | Owner or change |
|---|---|
| March 20, 1976 | Franchise awarded to a group of Labatt (45 percent), R. Howard Webster (45 percent), and CIBC (10 percent) |
| November 1991 | Labatt buys the Webster estate’s stake and holds 90 percent |
| 1995 | Labatt is bought by Interbrew |
| September 1, 2000 | Rogers Communications buys 80 percent; Interbrew keeps 20 percent; CIBC leaves |
| January 2004 | Rogers buys the remaining 20 percent and owns 100 percent |
The 1976 split is from SABR. Later steps come from Wikipedia’s history of the club, which cites news reports, and have not been confirmed on an official team page. For the current owner, the team’s own pages are the place to look.
Frequently asked questions
Where are the Toronto Blue Jays from?
Toronto, Ontario. The club plays in the American League East.
When were the Blue Jays founded?
The franchise was awarded on March 20, 1976, and the first game was played on April 7, 1977.
Who owns the Toronto Blue Jays?
Rogers Communications, which has owned 100 percent of the club since January 2004 according to the sources above. Check the team’s official pages for current ownership.
Where is the Blue Jays stadium?
Rogers Centre, at 1 Blue Jays Way in downtown Toronto. The team played at Exhibition Stadium from 1977 until SkyDome opened in 1989.
Related reading
- Rogers Centre and the other modern landmarks
- The Canadian National Exhibition grounds, home of Exhibition Stadium
- History of the Toronto Raptors
- History of the Toronto Maple Leafs
- History of Toronto’s professional sports teams
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- SABR, “The Birth of the Toronto Blue Jays”
- Major League Baseball, article on Exhibition Stadium and the April 7, 1977 opener
- ESPN, report on Game 7 of the 2025 World Series
- Wikipedia, “History of the Toronto Blue Jays” and “Rogers Centre,” for ownership dates, venues, and title years, with the news reports they cite
- SABR article on the birth of the Blue Jays
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Toronto Blue Jays: history of the team since 1977. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-blue-jays-history
MLA: “Toronto Blue Jays: history of the team since 1977.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-blue-jays-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto Blue Jays: history of the team since 1977.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-blue-jays-history.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.