Jim Fanning, the former Expos manager who led the team to their only post-season appearance, has died, according to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He was 87 years old.

Often referred to as Gentleman Jim, Fanning was part of the management team that put together the original Montreal Expos in 1969. He led the team in 1981, when the team was one win away from a World Series berth but lost the final game of their five-game series to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a day now known to Expos faithful as Blue Monday.

Fanning served as the manager again in 1982 and 1984. In all, he spent 25 years with the Expos organization including stints as a vice-president and scout.

"He was as loyal a guy as you'd find in baseball, and a really sweet guy to be around," said TSN 690 host Mitch Melnick. "He was one of the cornerstones of the franchise that was the Montreal Expos."

He served as an ambassador for amateur baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization and was honoured by that team in 2009 for reaching 60 years of involvement in professional baseball.

Fanning signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1949 and played 64 games as a catcher for four seasons.

He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

"We have lost a great baseball legend and fine gentleman," said Hall of Fame Director of Operations Scott Crawford in an email.