How Historic Was Halladay's No-No?

NBC10 Sports director Vai Sikahema gives his thoughts on Roy Halladay’s NLDS no-hitter.

What's more difficult to achieve, a playoff no-hitter or winning a World Series?

There's little debate here -- Roy Halladay's Wednesday night NLDS opening feat was only the second time in baseball history that a pitcher hurled a no-hitter in the postseason.

Obviously, someone wins the World Series every year but a more compelling argument is that clubs are routinely winning multiple championships -- the Phillies hopefully will soon join that group.

Let's not confuse most difficult, though, with most "meaningful."

A World Series title is more of a shared experience but a no-hitter certainly does that -- just in a different way. Phils Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt told ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike Thursday morning that Halladay's feat is THE greatest sports moment in Philadelphia history.

And, plenty of sports pundits seem to side with Schmidt.

I happen to agree.

The Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and repeated in '75. The Eagles won their last title in 1960. The Sixers won the NBA title in 1983. The Phillies have been to five World Series and won two.

In that time, no one has ever thrown a no-hitter in the postseason. Don Larsen threw his perfect game before any of our titles, in 1956 against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the Fall Classic.

Forget baseball and just consider the more important world events and leaders that hadn't occurred or we didn't yet know since Larsen's no-hitter. John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Beatles were not yet on the world stage.

The Berlin Wall was built and torn down.

The Civil Right Movement was in its infancy, with Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat just 10 months prior to Larsen's no-hitter.

What we witnessed Thursday night might not happen again in our lifetime.

You would be 60 years old if you have a memory of Larsen's no-hitter, but more likely, at least 65 to 70 to have any appreciation for it.

That's how significant Halladay's no-hitter was.

It's historical -- even in a city that prides itself in our Republic's history.