Rick Wise made a significant impact on the baseball world starting in Little League and continued into the Major Leagues for 18 seasons.
Born in Michigan in 1945, Wise grew up in Northeast Portland and led Rose City Little League to the Little League World Series as a 12-year-old in 1958. Rose City was the first Oregon team to advance to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. When he was 15, he threw a no-hitter in the Babe Ruth World Series. Rick was coached by his father, Cliff, who coached and taught at Benson Tech.
He led Madison High to the 1963 Oregon state title as a shortstop and right-handed pitcher, then signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 17 the very next month.
Assigned to Bakersfield of the California League, Wise went 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA that summer. The Phillies called him up for the ’64 season but sent him back to the minors in ’65 and part of ’66. He returned to Philly in ’66 at age 20 and played the next 16 seasons in the Majors before retiring shortly after the 1982 season began.
In addition to Philadelphia, Wise played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, and San Diego Padres. He was an All-Star in ’71 with the Phillies and ’73 with the Cardinals.
On June 23,1971, as a member of the Phillies, Wise had one of the greatest performances in Major League history throwing a no-hitter against Cincinnati, allowing just one base runner. He also hit two home runs in that game. His bat from that game is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rick appeared in three different World Series while in the bigs. With the Red Sox, he won the epic Game 6 of the 1975 World Series as a reliever. That’s the game that ended with Carlton Fisk’s memorable home run down the left field line at Fenway Park.
In 18 seasons, Wise won 11 or more games 10 times and finished 188-181 with a 3.69 ERA. He pitched 138 complete games and had 30 shutouts in 455 career starts. As a batter, he hit 15 home runs and drove in 66. Following his playing career, Wise coached at various levels of pro ball, retiring after the 2008 season.