'He was like the average guy': Canadian Hall of Fame remembers Roy Halladay

Scott Crawford remembers the first time he met Roy Halladay in person.

"He stuck out his hand with a huge smile on his face and said 'Hi Scott. How are you doing?' Not all pro athletes act like that."

Halladay travelled to St. Mary's in June to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Crawford was with his wife and children and wanted to make the weekend event go well. 

"He told me 'I'm so thankful to be here. What can we do to help?' It's just the type of guy Roy was."

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Halladay was killed Tuesday when his small plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. He was 40.

"It was a complete shock," said Crawford. "I had to sit down to read more."

Then the memories of Halladay's visit in June and his illustrious career started pouring in.  

"I'm going over the memories in my head and looking over the pictures and I'm getting chills just remembering each aspect," he said. "We had him here for four days and it was so memorable and even more memorable now. He won't be forgotten." 

What stuck out about Halladay was his love of Canada and Ontario — he was a Blue Jay through and through, Crawford said. 

Pitcher Roy Halladay remembered as one of baseball's finest

7 years ago

Duration 4:13

As tributes pour in following his death in a plane crash, it is the quality of his character that stands out as much as his on-field accomplishments

"This was a second home. He played 12 years in Canada, his son was born in Canada and he came back to retire as a Blue Jay. He signed a one-day contract to be a Blue Jay to end his professional baseball career. That's what it meant to him." 

And Halladay's impact on the people who knew him, and on the sport he loved, will continue, Crawford said. 

"You can't look at a better pitcher in this generation. He was for a decade the greatest pitcher. He didn't play on a lot of great teams, but he was still one of the best pitchers in all of baseball."