Forty-three years ago, the Blue Jays were getting set to start their first-ever season in Major League Baseball.

And that's why Peter Bavasi, the team's original general manager, was a guest on CBC's Front Page Challenge.

The first question asked of him was what having a baseball team would mean for the City of Toronto.

"From a financial point of view ... the Blue Jays will mean an impact of some $50 million to Toronto and to southern Ontario," Bavasi told the panel on Front Page Challenge, on an episode that aired a few days before the team played its first game in April 1977.

Beer not a must-have

Bavasi said the on-field product would provide "good, clean, wholesome family entertainment," for the fans.

The Blue Jays started playing games in 1977, but were not able to sell beer to fans until mid-way through the 1982 season. (The National/CBC Archives)

"We bring a new business to Ontario, to Toronto, that is smog-free and that builds employment for close to 400 people on a full- or part-time basis for each game we play at Exhibition Stadium."

That business would also be one that did not sell beer to fans attending the games, as the team was simply not allowed to do that at that time.

"Beer and baseball don't necessarily go together," said Bavasi, noting that the team hoped it would be able to sell beer to fans in future — though that would not actually happen until 1982.

"Beer can be served and purchased and drunk all over Ontario ... but there's only one place that you can see Major League Baseball in Ontario and that's Exhibition Stadium," Bavasi added.

Born into baseball

Peter Bavasi explains his path to becoming Toronto's first-ever GM. 0:51

Bavasi was also asked about the path that brought him to the general manager's office.

He explained that he grew up in a baseball family. His father, Emil (Buzzie) Bavasi, had once been the general manager of the Montreal Royals and his son, an American, had spent part of his upbringing in Canada as a result.

Peter Bavasi told Front Page Challenge that he went on to work in baseball administration after finishing college, working in a series of positions that led him to take on the GM job with the Blue Jays.

"I've come to Toronto to see about putting a ball club on the field ... it's a very thrilling thing for me," said Bavasi.

'Try to win'

In his role as the Jays' first GM, Bavasi put together the roster that would go on to win just 54 games that year under team manager Roy Hartsfield. (The team also won its first-ever game during its inaugural season.)

Roy Hartsfield, shown in a 1977 file photo, was hired as the first manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. (The Associated Press)

On Front Page Challenge, Bavasi hadn't wanted to make too many predictions about how that first season would go, but said "our ballplayers are going to go out each and every day, for those 162 days, and try to win every ballgame."

Bavasi wouldn't hold the role of general manager for long — he was appointed team president following the 1977 season, while Pat Gillick similarly ascended in the organization and took on the GM duties.

With Gillick at the helm, the Blue Jays organization would eventually field teams that made the playoffs and which would win back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993.

But Bavasi wouldn't stick around long enough to be part of those glory days, however. He left the Blue Jays organization following the 1981 season.