The Montreal Expos no longer exist as an active Major League Baseball team. Founded in 1969 as the first Major League Baseball franchise located outside the United States, the Expos played thirty-six seasons in Quebec, Canada, building a beloved culture and cultivating legendary Hall of Fame talent like Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, and Vladimir Guerrero. However, following years of ownership turbulence, a disastrous strike-shortened season in 1994 when they held the best record in baseball, declining attendance at Olympic Stadium, and lack of a modern downtown ballpark, Major League Baseball purchased the franchise in 2002. After two seasons of split-schedule play between Montreal and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the league orchestrated the team's permanent relocation to Washington, District of Columbia, ahead of the 2005 campaign. The relocated franchise was officially rebranded as the Washington Nationals, thereby ending the existence of the Montreal Expos on the diamond, although nostalgic appreciation, iconic tricolor hats, and grassroots efforts to bring an expansion team back to Montreal remain vibrant.