Game 1 of the World Series begins tonight, marking the Toronto Blue Jays’ long-awaited return to the Fall Classic — and for many fans, a flood of memories from more than 30 years ago are suddenly top of mind.
In less than 24 hours, nearly 200 fans reached out to CTV News Toronto with photos, ticket stubs, and stories from 1992 and 1993 — some who were inside the SkyDome when history was made, and others who marked lifelong milestones the day the Jays won it all.
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Now, Toronto is back on the biggest stage, with first pitch tonight at 8 p.m. inside the Rogers Centre.
Sparked by feelings of nostalgia, fans across Canada are reliving where they were the last time the Jays went all the way.
Here’s a look at some of the heartfelt memories from that time.
‘That street was pure chaos’
For Raj Kanhai, the night Toronto captured its first championship felt like the city had turned into one massive block party.
“In 1992 I was in high school, and I remember going to the Skydome with my buddies to watch the Game 6 simulcast on the Jumbotron while our Jays played the game in Atlanta,” Kanhai said. “For a can of beans, I cheered along with my friends and thousands of other fans.”
He recalled the “rally cap moment,” with all his friends’ hats stacked on his head when Dave Winfield drove the ball down the line to break the extra-innings tie.
“Security let everyone in the dome run onto the field and celebrate,” he said.
“That street was pure chaos,” he added. “From Front to Yonge and then up to Dundas was just wall-to-wall people. It felt like a massive street party.”
Sports ‘brings you together’
For Derek Hallyburton, the Blue Jays’ 1992 win will always be tied to his closest friendship with his longtime pal, Paul Fitzner.
He spent that night inside Maple Leaf Gardens watching the Leafs face the San Jose Sharks — with a small 12-inch television, huddled around in a corporate box tuned to the Jays game.
“It was a tough decision to go to the Leafs game,” he said, “but my best friend (Paul) worked at Ford and was invited to a box, so I went with him.”
When security asked them to leave before the Jays game ended, the two scrambled to a nearby bar on Carlton Street known at the time as Cafe Jezabel.
“When the Jays won, we ran to Yonge Street and joined the mayhem,” Hallyburton said.
More than 30 years later, he and that same friend still talk about that night.
“Sports does that — it brings you together and keeps you together,” he said. “We’re both 62 now, and I remember it like it was yesterday.”
Another fan, Mike Rudichuk recalls being 12 years old, attending the game with his dad, when they discovered people already sitting in their seats high up in the 500 level beside the Jumbotron.
“At the time, there were no fancy ticket scanners or ways to tell right away if tickets were counterfeit,” Rudichuk said.
The confusion led to an unexpected upgrade. Stadium staff couldn’t find two seats together, so they placed the pair just 15 rows behind the Blue Jays’ dugout — Rudichuk in one row, his dad right behind him.
Now 45, Rudichuk says this year’s World Series carries special meaning. His own son is nearly the same age he was that night and the two have been following every pitch together.
Giving birth on Game 1
Lucy Gagro, a Georgetown Ont. resident vividly recalls the Blue Jays’ first World Series appearance, linking it to the birth of her daughter.
“It was just a cool event to have given birth on the first day of the first game of the first ever World Series,” she said.
“We told everyone to leave the hospital room so we could rest — but really, we just wanted to put the game on TV.”
Lucy still keeps a Coke can from the 1992 series. A souvenir she says is part of her.
This year, she watched the Blue Jays clinch their 2025 World Series berth with her daughter — the same one born that day.
A pristine ticket stub from 1992
For Oakville’s Duncan Ross, few sounds will ever rival the roar inside SkyDome in 1992 — the first World Series game ever played outside the United States.
Ross still has his pristine ticket stub — $54 for a fourth-row seat in right-centre field, close to where Devon White made his famous leaping catch.
“Everybody around you was your best friend,” he said. “We were witnessing history.”
More than 30 years later, Ross recently took his son to a Blue Jays game that clinched their first-place finish in the AL East Division this season.
“To have him with me to experience these moments — it was magical,” he said. “He got a sense of what the power of fandom and the power of sport can mean to a city.”
A birthday to remember
For Mark McCutcheon, a former paid duty officer, the Jays’ 1992 championship coincided with another milestone — his 40th birthday.
“My wife organized a surprise birthday party for me,” he said. “She rented a hall, invited family and friends, and my brother-in-law brought a 12-inch TV. There were 30 or 40 of us huddled around that TV seeing the Jays win the pennant in the 11th inning. What a birthday gift and celebration.”
Now 72, McCutcheon still keeps in touch with friends from that night — and hopes to see Toronto win it all again.
How much did tickets cost back then?
Dozens of fans sent in photos of ticket stubs that today feel like relics from another era.
Oakville’s Duncan Ross paid $54 for his 1992 ticket — and later sold a pair of 1993 World Series seats for $200.
Toronto’s Karen Doerrie paid $150 to attend the 1993 World Series — “one-third of my rent at the time,” she said. “Worth every penny.”
Others, like Chitra Thurairajah, still keep their full sets of tickets from that 1993 clinching game, where Joe Carter’s home run sealed Toronto’s second championship. “I paid $58 each by mail order,” she said. “When we left the stadium, people on the street offered to buy our ticket stubs — but of course we refused.”
‘I watched the VHS tapes’
For Mike Andrade, the Jays’ early-’90s dynasty defined his childhood for much of what he could remember.
“I was only three years old during the 1993 championship,” he said. “I don’t remember anything from the game, but I watched the VHS tapes of the ’92 and ’93 World Series all the time as a kid.”
Now 35, Andrade says this season has felt surreal. “For the last few days, the first thing I do when I wake up is check my phone and rewatch Springer’s home run — just to make sure I’m not dreaming all of this.”
Share your story
Were you at the SkyDome during the 1992 or 1993 World Series? Do you still have your ticket stubs, photos, or memorabilia from those days?
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