Harry Leroy Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nickname, "Doc", coined by Toronto Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, was a reference to Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday. His lasting durability allowed him to lead the league in complete games seven times, the most of any pitcher whose career began after 1945. He also led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio five times and innings pitched four times. An eight-time All-Star, Halladay was one of the most dominant pitchers of his era and is regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
Raised in Arvada, Colorado, Halladay pitched at Arvada West High School before being drafted 17th overall by the Blue Jays in the 1995 MLB draft. He made his major league debut in 1998, nearly pitching a no-hitter in his second career start. After struggling in 2000, he was demoted to the low minor leagues, where he reworked his delivery and pitching. In 2002, Halladay established himself as a durable, elite starting pitcher, earning his first All-Star selection. The following year, he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award and led the AL in complete games, which he accomplished five times in seven seasons, through 2009. Traded to the Phillies before the 2010 season, he pitched both the 20th perfect game and the second postseason no-hitter in major league history, led the majors in shutouts for the second consecutive year, and won the National League (NL) Cy Young Award. In 2011, Halladay had another dominant season, leading the NL in complete games, but he was plagued by injuries the next two years. After the 2013 season, he announced his retirement.
On November 7, 2017, Halladay died when he crashed his ICON A5 amphibious plane into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. He was 40 years old. The following year the Blue Jays organization retired his number 32; the Phillies retired his number 34 in 2021. In 2019, Halladay was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Read more...The May 14, 1977 was a Saturday under the star sign of ♉. It was the 133 day of the year. President of the United States was Jimmy Carter.
If you were born on this day, you are 48 years old. Your last birthday was on the Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 173 days ago. Your next birthday is on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in 191 days. You have lived for 17,705 days, or about 424,938 hours, or about 25,496,314 minutes, or about 1,529,778,840 seconds.
Date: 14 May 1977
By ALAN RIDING Special to The New York Times
Alan Special
Lopez Portillo Govt decides to return control of newspaper Excelsior to liberal ed Julio Scherer Garcia and journalists who were ousted from their posts July '76 through intervention of ex-Pres Echeverria Alvarez; Scherer Garcia comments (M)
Date: 15 May 1977
Communist Party USA publishes 2,000-word attack on left-wing NY Yiddish daily, Morning Freiheit, and its editor, Paul Novick, as having slid in interests of US imperialism; attack follows similar denunciations of Freiheit in Mar issue of Moscow Yiddish monthly, Sovetish Heimland, whose editor Aaron Vergelis, asserted that Freheit in '40s was not ashamed to publicly announce it was Communist newspaper (S)
Date: 15 May 1977
Special to The New York Times
Fed officials have mixed reaction to Atty Gen Bell's warning that Justice Dept will defend them for withholding Govt information only if such disclosure would be 'demonstrably harmful'; Bell also revealed that he has ordered Justice Dept civil div to rev all freedom-of-information suits, and that some information previously withheld might be released (M)
Date: 15 May 1977
By J. Anthony Lukas
J. Lukas
J Anthony Lukas article on White House press corps's reaction to Carter Adm; notes most members regard Carter as basically honest man, and press-Pres antagonism of Johnson, Nixon and Ford Adms is largely gone
Date: 15 May 1977
By Richard Reeves
Richard Reeves
Richard Reeves article on Carter's frequent and successful use of TV and radio
Date: 15 May 1977
By JUAN de ONIS Special to The New York Times
Juan de ONIS
Argentina is in turmoil over revelations of business scandals and over morality campaign by right-wingers in which Lanusse has been arrested; Govt has denied there is any anti-Semitic element in investigations, but 3 principal figures involved are prominent Argentine Jews, and anti-Jewish publications are capitalizing on it; incidents include kidnapping of newspaper exec Edgardo Sajon, who worked closely with Lanusse and financial dealings of late Argentine Jewish banker David Graiver; Graiver scandal has led to arrest of La Opinion publisher Jacobo Timmerman, who is being held on exec order without official charges; proceedings have caused serious concern among Jews; other events noted (M)
Date: 15 May 1977
By Charles Mohr
Charles Mohr
Charles Mohr article on Carter press sec Jody Powell traces his relationship with Carter from time of '76 Pres campaign; illus (L)