A first is a first is a first

Sunday, Sept. 2, 1990. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stieb threw his first no-hitter (and to this day the only no-hitter for the Jays) in a 3-0 win over Cleveland.

First. Pretty simple concept, really. But even back then there were newscasters saying "first ever" and my father wouldn't stop.

"First means first. No modifier needed -- it's the first. What's so hard to understand?"

I'll never forget that and to this day use the Stieb example when trying to get writers to understand the proper usage of the word.

From the trusty Apple dictionary:

first |fərst|
ordinal number
1 coming before all others in time or order; earliest; 1st : his first wife | the first of five daughters
• never previously done or occurring : he threw his first no-hitter.