Harvey Haddix Bio: Stats, Family, No Hitter & Death
May 31, 2026
This article was last updated by Sujan on June 15, 2026
The sports world sure comes with a lot of fame and glory, but some are in it only for the love of the sport. One such athlete was Harvey Haddix.
Harvey is best known for his legendary pitch of 12 perfect innings (26th May 1959) against the Milwaukee Braves. George Sisler Jr. compared Harvey to Cardinal’s pitcher Harry “The Cat” Brecheen. Thus, Haddix earned the nickname “Kitten.”
Harvey HaddixLet’s have a look at some quick facts about Harvey Haddix.
Quick Facts
Harvey Haddix | Personal Life & Family
This extraordinary pitcher Harvey Haddix was born on 18th September 1925 in Medway, Ohio. Sadly, he passed away on 8th January 1994 in Springfield of Ohio.
Harvey was the third son of Harvey Haddix, Sr., and Nellie Mae Greider Haddix. The Haddix family were farmers near Westville, in west-central Ohio.
Spikes of Hardey HaddixAs children of farmers, Harvey grew up on the farm with his older brothers Ed and Ben, and a younger brother Fred. Since there wasn’t much to entertain them so they had to get innovative. They started playing baseball- two on each side. They even got creative enough to invent their first glove using a leather horse collar. In 1940, Harvey joined Catawba High School near South Vienna, Ohio. Here, he joined a successful baseball team along with his older brother Ben.
See About
Harvey Haddix | Early days in baseball
After joining the baseball team at Catawba High, Harvey had to get creative again. Because he lacked proper baseball gear for the sport like cleats. In fact, he punched holes at the bottom of his shoes and riveted spikes on the bottom to make his own. As a senior in high school, he took over the pitching chores and led his team to win the country championship. His father was already a renowned amateur pitcher by then so he had all the support to continue playing. His older brother and teammate- Ben Haddix was also making moves. Ben played minor-league baseball for the local Springfield Cardinals- a Class C Middle Atlantic League club managed by Walter Alston. After graduating, he was pitching semi-pro when a scout from Philadelphia Athletics offered to refer him to Connie Mack. He waited two weeks to no avail. So, when he saw an article about Redbird tryouts in Columbus, he took the chance.
Harvey was called to give three to four curveballs and fastballs and instantly there he got offer to sign in.
After impressing the Cardinals, Harvey got approached to sign right away. But he declined as he still had hopes to hear back from the Philadelphia Athletics scout. After hearing nothing back though, he went back to Columbus and signed with the Cardinals.
Harvey Haddix | Career
Before he could start his career though, the Second World War blocked all his chances. He had a three-year deferment from the military which forced him to be a farmer again. But when the war ended, he went back to the Cardinals. Here, after two weeks of idle time, they tried to send him to Idaho but he refused on the grounds that it was too far from home. So, they sent him to Winston-Salem of the class C Caroline League where he met the team in Lynchburg, Virginia. Here, he met manager Zip Payne, who was not impressed with his 5 foot 6, 175-pound self. Here, he met manager Zip Payne, who was not impressed with his 5 foot 6, 175-pound self. But he went on to have 19 wins, and 275 strikeouts while also hitting over .300 (including a pinch-hit homer). It’s safe to say he then managed to chance Payne’s opinion of him.
If you are interested in
On the 11th of August, he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter. Later he also threw a nine-inning one-hitter and had a 19-strikeout game. He went on to be The League All-Star, The left-handed Pitcher of the year, The Rookie of the year, and The Most Valuable Player. His 1.90 ERA (Earned Run Average) even beat out the second-best (3.18).
Later, Harvey played for Triple-A ball for three years until 1950. He tried to go back to the Cardinals, but they rejected him as they already had five good left-handed pitchers. In 1948, Haddix had 11 wins and a .337 batting average and became an all-star for the 2nd year. He moved on to play with teams such as Red Birds, Milwaukee Brewers, Batters, Fort Dix, St Louis, etc. instead. In 1949, he won 13 games for the Red Birds and secured the all-star spot yet again.
Harvey Haddix Career Stats
The game on 26th May was extraordinary to say the least. On this day, Haddix- who was playing for the Pirates’, scored 12 innings against the Braves.
There, the lineup included the Hall of Famers: Eddie Mathews and .
This specific was so perfect that it was thirty-six up and thirty-six downs. But the error that occurred in the 12 turned into an IBB to Aaron turning into an HR.
The legendary pitching led people to remember this day as ‘Harvey Haddix Day.’
Harvey’s play was the second most famous perfect game. But later, Braves pitcher admitted the steal sign from the Pirates that barely mattered.
Harvey Haddix | Achievements
1947:
- National League All-star,
- The left-handed pitcher of the year
- The year’s rookie
- The most valuable of the year
1948:
- National League All-star (Second year in a row)
1949:
- National League All-star (Third year in a row)
- Won 13 games for Red Birds all-star
1950:
- 18 wins,
- and another National League All-Star selection (the Fourth year in a row).
This was also the year Haddix change up his repertoire as not just a pitcher, but also a fastball and slider.
1952:
- won a complete-game five-hitter, 9-2 against the Boston Braves.
This was the year he made a major-league debut with the Cardinals after his Army Service. By the end of 1952, he had three complete games, a 2-2 record, and a 2.79 ERA.
1953:
- won three pitcher’s batting awards: collecting the most hits, scoring the most runs, and stealing the most bases. (And comically, he also won a box of cigars.)
- the second spot on the National League All-Star.
1954:
- ranked among the elite National League pitchers.
1958:
- won his first Golden Glove Award.
- broke the record for consecutive perfect innings to start a game.
Gold Glove of Harvey HaddixHarvey received ‘Gold Glove Awards’ thrice for his fielding and winning ten games in a row. Quite the heart-warming story of a star player who was once a young boy playing in his farm with his leather horse-shoe collar.
Harvey Haddix | Injury
Just after the game of 1954, Haddix was selected for a National League All-Star.
But unfortunately during the peak of his career, he had to be replaced on the team because of a small injury. Haddix was struck below the right kneecap by a line drive off someone’s bat. And that someone was Joe Adcock- Milwaukee’s first baseman.
Haddix even recalled that he, “didn’t have the same spring off the mound” after the injury. He also added that he couldn’t run well and it affected his gameplay.
Despite being injured, Haddix persevered and won six more games. However, his career after the injury was inconsistent and led the Cardinals to a slow start.
Harvey Haddix | The Fame
Throughout his baseball career, Haddix was nothing but hardworking and humble. One could even joke that he was too busy chasing the ball to chase the fame.
He once even turned down an opportunity to appear on the television shows To Tell the Truth and The Ed Sullivan Show, choosing to stay and celebrate with his team instead.
According to Harvey’s wife- Marcia Haddix, Harvey was into baseball because he loved to play. That’s it.
Harvey was so famous that the Cardinals threw him a banquet in September of 1949. He was equally loved by baseball fans who were buying his signed baseballs and jerseys. They were even reselling them at a high price, but Harvey never made a big deal out of it.
Staying true to his roots, Harvey even bought a farm for himself.
He believed that perfect pitching was just a part of his career. Well, Harvey has always been the best in the game and always gave his best to win the game.
Harvey Haddix | Net Worth & Salary
On top of his achievements as a successful baseball player, his net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million $5.5 million.
See Net Worth of in
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which clubs have Harvey Haddix played for?
Harvey has played professionally in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles.
Has Harvey Haddix ever served as Coach?
From 1966, Harvey coached New York Mets, Columbus Jets, and GCL Pirates. Similarly, Harddix was also a member of the Cincinnati Reds Staff.
What is Harvey Haddix’s height?
While playing for the Cardinals, Harvey was just 5 feet 6 inches.
Later, Harvey reached 5 feet and 9 inches (,175 cm).
Hello there! I am Pratima Gurung, currently a bachelor's running student. Besides that, I have so much interest in traveling. Additionally, I love to dance and watch rom-com movies during my spare time.
Related articles
May 13, 2026
May 11, 2026
May 11, 2026
May 7, 2026
Comments
LEAVE A REPLY
Comment: Please enter your comment! Name:* Please enter your name here Email:* You have entered an incorrect email address! Please enter your email address here
Δ
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.
Share article
- May 13, 2026 Residents of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, are raising serious concerns after a series of violent incidents involving a group of young boys who have been targeting...
- May 13, 2026 Andrew O' Donnell of Fairfield, Connecticut, passed away at the age of 39. He was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, and later moved to Ancramdale, New...
- May 12, 2026 Judy (Evans) Milby of Rockwall, Texas, passed away on Saturday at the age of 80. Milby was born on July 25, 1945, to her father,...
- May 12, 2026 Residents of Dromore, Co. Down, are calling for action after a deeply concerning incident at the local play park, where older children were reported...
- May 11, 2026 A video circulating on Facebook has sparked a heated debate among Bell Gardens residents after police were called on a group of kids riding...
