#322 Rick Wise - Philadelphia Phillies

Richard Charles Wise
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  September 13, 1945, Jackson, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, June 16, 1963
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1964, 1966-1971; St. Louis Cardinals 1972-1973; Boston Red Sox 1974-1977; Cleveland Indians 1978-1979; San Diego Padres 1980-1982

A two-time All-Star with the Phillies in 1971 and the Cardinals in 1973, Rick Wise enjoyed an 18-year big league career, winning 188 games.  Wise was a 10-game winner in 10 different seasons, winning as many as 19 with the pennant-winning Red Sox in 1975.  He was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, the recipient of Carlton Fisk's walk-off home run against the Reds in the 12th inning.  Wise was traded for future Hall of Famers twice in his career.  The first time came in February 1972 when he was sent to the Cardinals for Steve Carlton (#477).  The Red Sox traded him in March 1978 to the Indians as part of the deal that sent Dennis Eckersley to Boston.

1983 Phillies Postcards Great Moments #11

Also known for his hitting, Wise was a career .195 hitter collecting 15 home runs and 66 RBIs.  In perhaps one of the best single game performances ever from a pitcher, Wise threw a no-hitter against the Reds on June 23, 1971, hitting a pair of home runs to aid his cause.  The Phillies included the feat as one of their greatest moments in a centennial postcard set issued in 1983.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #5
This was one of five Phillies cards purchased from a dealer at the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino on the bottom floor.  I had told the dealer I was looking for a few hard to find Phillies high numbers from older Topps sets, and he helped me find the 1962 Topps Jack Hamilton Rookie Parade card and the 1972 Topps Tommy Hutton Rookie Stars card.  Both those cards together totalled $50.  I then waited for Doug to find his way over to me and I pointed out the dealer's binder of Topps Phillies cards from the 1960s.  I told Doug to pick a few Phillies cards to mark the official start to our set, and we were off.

Doug picked this Wise card along with cards for players he had heard of before - Tony Taylor (#296), Dallas Green (#203), Johnny Callison (#310) and Cookie Rojas (#474).  "How many cards do you guys need for your 1965 Topps set?" the dealer asked.  I told him these would be the fist five cards added.  "In that case," he said, "I'll take five dollars for those five cards and good luck with your set!"  What was probably close to $20 or $25 in cards were ours for a $1 a piece.

Doug was quick to choose cards of Taylor and Green, and Wise was the third card he picked.  When I asked him if he knew who Wise had been traded away for, I was more than a little proud when he tentatively answered, "Steve Carlton?"

The Card
This is Wise's first solo Topps card, as he shared a Rookie Stars card in the 1964 set with fellow pitching prospect Dave Bennett.  The narrative on the back goes a long way to point out that Wise's five wins in 1964 came against the Mets (3), Pirates (1) and Dodgers (1).  Wise was tapped to start the second game of a double header against the Mets on Father's Day 1964.  Jim Bunning (#20), starting the first game, threw his perfect game that day and Wise did his best to keep the momentum going.  He retired the first four Mets batters but walked catcher Jesse Gonder in the second.  The Mets crowd, who hadn't seen a base runner reach in 10 innings, gave the home team a standing ovation.  Wise won the game, throwing six innings and allowing two unearned runs.

1965 Season
The Phillies wanted the young Wise to gain some experience in his second full professional season, so Wise spent all of 1965 with their top farm team, the Arkansas Travelers.  Playing for manager Frank Lucchesi, he went 8-16 over 28 starts with a 4.45 ERA.

Phillies Career
Wise made his debut with the Phillies as an 18-year-old in 1964.  He came up for good in 1966 and was a key component of the Phillies pitching rotation for six seasons, culminating with his 17-win season in 1971.  As the story goes, both the Phillies and Cardinals were locked in tense negotiations with their respective young pitchers, Wise and Carlton, when each team's general manager decided to swap their problems.  While Wise went on to have an objectively successful career, his numbers and his success never matched up with Carlton's, who would go on to earn the title of the best left-handed pitcher in the history of the Phillies franchise.

Over seven seasons with the Phillies, Wise went 75-76 with a 3.60 ERA.  He struck out 717 batters, threw 52 complete games, including 13 shutouts.

1964 Topps #561

1971 Topps #598

1975 Topps #56

1979 Topps #253

1982 Topps #330

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #561 (with Dave Bennett)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18):  1964-1965, 1967-1982
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1990 Pacific Senior League #31

Wise has appeared in quite a few minor and independent league team sets beginning in 1985 and going through 2009.

108 - Wise non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/8/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #321 Rusty Staub - Houston Astros

Next Card:  #323 Hank Bauer MG - Baltimore Orioles