#56 - Rick Wise

Card fact: This is Wise's first card in an official Red Sox uniform. He is airbrushed into a Red Sox cap on his 1974 Topps card.

What I thought about this card then: Wise was one of those pitchers that I always liked and wanted on my team, chiefly because he played for three teams that I always liked: the Phillies, Cardinals and Red Sox. (Later, he'd play for the Indians and Padres). I acquired this card a few years after 1975, which means I sought out this card and purchased it with the pathetic amount of cash I made as a paperboy.

What I think about this card now: Wise looks like he's been drugged.

Other stuff: Wise is known for a few things: he was traded for Steve Carlton, he was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, he played in the Little League World Series. But I like this quote attributed to him: "The designated hitter rule is like having someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws." No argument here.

Back facts: The write-up on the bottom is mentioned several times on Wise's baseball cards. It has to be one of the best single-game accomplishments ever. I know I was impressed as a kid.

When I saw the cartoon as a kid, I thought Woodrow Wilson was balancing a bird cage with his bat. Silly me. It was a drawing of the White House in the background, not a bird cage.

Other blog stuff: Nothing about the blog, really, but I wanted to show this other card I have of Rick Wise:

Great shape, right? This card represents the line between when I treated cards as toys, much like a Matchbox car or a ball, and when I treated cards as precious items to be preserved. My preservation abilities weren't very refined until I became a teenager in the 1980s. But after the mangling of this 1977 Rick Wise, I would never allow any of my cards to be treated this severely.

Kind of sad.