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Former Montreal Expos general manager and lifelong supporter of Canadian baseball Jim Fanning has died of a heart attack. He was 87.

Often called Gentleman Jim, Fanning first served the Expos as general manager in 1968, and stayed involved with the franchise in different roles until the early 1990s.

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“He wore just about every hat you could for the Expos,” his son Frank said over the phone from the Fanning family home in London, Ontario.

The younger Fanning, now 25, grew up alongside his dad in Montreal until he was 10 years old.

He said as a young boy he remembers marvelling at the amount of people that would pull his father aside to shake his hand and talk with him on their way to the park.

“He even tried to learn French, so he’d be speaking the best American French he could to French Canadians,” he said. “And he was so happy to, because he loved Montreal from the bottom of his heart.”

An outpouring of support took place on social media Saturday afternoon as Montrealers and baseball fans shared memories and thoughts of Fanning.