I have a story about Roy Halladay that sums up the player and the man. It was after he threw his 2010 post-season no-hitter v the Reds...I was fortunate to be assigned to that game for ESPN and I saw it from the ESPN radio booth. By the 4th inning we saw he had no-hit stuff... After the game, we interviewed Halladay and Chooch on the field as they were still riding sky high. Then we went to file our story...more than an hour later, I was walking thru the tunnel and it occurred to me I should check in at home So I called the family...As I rounded a corner, with my wife on the line, I saw Halladay up ahead. By then he'd finished all interviews and was milling about...I asked my wife to hold on, put the phone down, and thanked Halladay for his earlier comments and for giving us a special moment ...when I put the phone back to my ear, my seven-year old was on the line. A HUGE Halladay fan. He said: "Dad, was that really Roy?"...And then I took a look back at Halladay, and noticed he wasn't in any hurry to go anywhere and I proceeded to break protocol...I asked if he'd take a quick second to talk to my kid, who wanted to tell him "Great job!" So Roy takes my phone and talks to my son!...Then my 7-year old goes into reporter mode. Asks Roy what it was like to throw a perfect game and no hitter in same year!...Pretty damn good question from a kid, right? They spoke for about a minute or so. Then Roy hands the phone back...When I get back on the phone it's my wife, telling me my son started crying. He was overwhelmed by what he'd just done and processing...The next day he told the kids at his elementary school: "Yeah, I talked to Roy after his no-hitter."...There are a helluva lot of athletes who I would never dream of approaching with a request like the one I put in front of Roy that nite...But @RoyHalladay was special. He was the stuff childhood dreams are made of. And he made us all soar that night.

ReadingPhilly wrote:

therealchaseutley My heart hurts writing this. I can still remember the first day we met. It was 5:45am on the first day of spring training when I arrived. He was finishing his breakfast but his clothes were soaking wet. I asked if it was raining when he got in. He laughed and said “No I just finished my workout” I knew right then- he was the real deal. Thank you Roy for allowing us to witness what it takes to be the best. We will all miss you.

Ace Rothstein wrote:Man this blows, this is the 2nd worst celebrity death blow behind HK for me, but feels worse because he’s so young

PTOITWCFTPP wrote:

Ace Rothstein wrote:Man this blows, this is the 2nd worst celebrity death blow behind HK for me, but feels worse because he’s so young

Yeah only Harry has been harder to deal with

WilliamC wrote:

PTOITWCFTPP wrote:

Ace Rothstein wrote:Man this blows, this is the 2nd worst celebrity death blow behind HK for me, but feels worse because he’s so young

Yeah only Harry has been harder to deal with

I didnt want to even go there but this one hit even harder actually because like everyone said you lost someone with a lot more to give. 40.

MattS wrote:So sad. Thinking of you guys. We had some great times rooting together for Doc. The ace who wanted to pitch in CBP and was as good as advertised when he finally did-- he symbolized the height of an era for all of us that waited so long.

Gimpy wrote:

WilliamC wrote:

PTOITWCFTPP wrote:

Ace Rothstein wrote:Man this blows, this is the 2nd worst celebrity death blow behind HK for me, but feels worse because he’s so young

Yeah only Harry has been harder to deal with

I didnt want to even go there but this one hit even harder actually because like everyone said you lost someone with a lot more to give. 40.

I remember at the time I explained to someone why Harry's death made me tear up by saying it was like losing the voice of summer for my childhood. Harry felt like part of the family; an extra grandpa or something.

The Dude wrote:It’s like It if floppy comes back

Still so sad. Probably will be sadder tomorrow when it sinks in more. My favorite memory is a dumb one. His perfect game was the same night as a flyers playoff game (maybe Stanley cup). Right after Roy finished the game I called my dad to see if he saw it. “Yeah, great game so far”. I knew he was superstitious about talking about no-hitters so I thought he just didn’t know it was over yet. Turns out he was watching the flyers like a chump and missed the whole thing

slugsrbad wrote:

The Dude wrote:It’s like It if floppy comes back

Still so sad. Probably will be sadder tomorrow when it sinks in more. My favorite memory is a dumb one. His perfect game was the same night as a flyers playoff game (maybe Stanley cup). Right after Roy finished the game I called my dad to see if he saw it. “Yeah, great game so far”. I knew he was superstitious about talking about no-hitters so I thought he just didn’t know it was over yet. Turns out he was watching the flyers like a chump and missed the whole thing

It was Game 1

WilliamC wrote:

PTOITWCFTPP wrote:

Ace Rothstein wrote:Man this blows, this is the 2nd worst celebrity death blow behind HK for me, but feels worse because he’s so young

Yeah only Harry has been harder to deal with

I didnt want to even go there but this one hit even harder actually because like everyone said you lost someone with a lot more to give. 40.