Dave Stieb
A fiery competitor with a devastating slider, he almost single-handedly willed the Toronto Blue Jays to respectability before their championship era.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American baseball player·Birthday: July 22·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dave Stieb didn't look like a typical ace when the Toronto Blue Jays drafted him as an outfielder, but his conversion to pitcher changed the franchise's destiny. Throughout the 1980s, he was the bedrock of a young team climbing from expansion laughingstock to contender. With a compact, powerful delivery and a slider that dove violently at right-handed hitters' feet, Stieb embodied a competitive fury that intimidated lineups. He carried no-hitters deep into games with remarkable frequency, finally sealing one in 1990 after several heartbreaking near-misses. Though injuries later diminished his dominance, his legacy was secure: he was the first true star the Blue Jays ever produced, a seven-time All-Star who set nearly every meaningful pitching record for the club. His career WAR remains the highest in team history, a testament to the sheer weight he carried for a decade, paving the way for the World Series titles that followed his peak.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dave was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dave Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Dave's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Pitched the first no-hitter in Toronto Blue Jays history on September 2, 1990, against the Cleveland Indians.
- Was named the American League's starting pitcher for the All-Star Game in 1981, 1983, and 1984.
- Holds the Blue Jays franchise records for career innings pitched (2,873), strikeouts (1,658), and complete games (103).
- Led the American League in earned run average (ERA) in 1985 with a mark of 2.48.
Did You Know?
He was originally drafted by the Blue Jays as a center fielder in 1978.
He lost no-hitters with two outs in the ninth inning in back-to-back starts in 1988 and again had one broken up with two outs in the ninth in 1989.
He famously yelled at his outfielders to 'sit down' during his 1990 no-hitter when they moved between pitches.
After his MLB career, he made a brief comeback in 1998 with the independent league Somerset Patriots.
“I pitched with anger; every hitter was trying to take my job.”
