Rick Wise - Baseball

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 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. He led Madison High to the 1963 state title as a shortstop and right-handed pitcher, then signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. 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 send 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.

In 1971, Wise threw a no-hitter against Cincinnati and also hit two home runs in the game. In Boston, he won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series as a reliever.

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 turned into a minor league coach for the next two decades. Wise was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.