The Main Event
- September 18, 1971 – Rick Wise retired 32 consecutive batters through 11 innings against Chicago before allowing a hit in the 12th, but still earning the victory.
On September 18, 1971, Rick Wise took the mound at Veterans Stadium for a Philadelphia Phillies team going nowhere in the National League East. What followed was one of the most dominant single-game pitching stretches in franchise history, a run of 32 consecutive batters retired that fell just four outs shy of the major league record. It capped a season in which Wise, at just 25 years old, established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
The Cubs sent Milt Pappas to the mound that day, and he came in with a strong 17-13 record in what was turning into a career year, while the Phillies were mired in last place in the National League East. Chicago wasted no time making Wise look ordinary. Home runs from Pat Bourque and Frank Fernandez staked the Cubs to a 3-1 lead by the second inning, and it looked like another long night for a Phillies team going nowhere that season.
The streak begins
Everything changed after Fernandez’s homer. Phillies pitching coach Ray Rippelmeyer came out for a mound visit, and whatever was said, it worked. Wise later said he couldn’t recall the specifics of the conversation, only that “something clicked.” From that point on, he was untouchable. Hector Torres was the first out of the streak in the second inning, and Wise proceeded to retire every Cub he faced for the next ten innings. Pat Bourque, who had already homered off him earlier in the game, became the 32nd consecutive out. Wise finished the day having faced 41 batters, walking none and striking out 10, a level of control that made the streak possible in the first place.
Wise’s run ended with two outs in the 12th inning when Ron Santo lined a single to left field. The streak stopped at 32, four shy of Harvey Haddix‘s major league record of 36 consecutive batters retired, set in Haddix’s legendary 1959 game for Pittsburgh. Even so, it remains a Phillies franchise record. Wise got the third out to escape the inning still tied, having allowed just five hits and three runs, only two of them earned, across a full 12 innings of work.
Wise wins his own game
The Phillies won it in the bottom of the 12th, and Wise had a hand in that too. Willie Montanez reached base and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. With one out, the Cubs chose to pitch around Don Money and Ron Stone rather than let either drive in the winning run, loading the bases and bringing Wise himself to the plate. He made Chicago pay, lining a single that scored Montanez and gave the Phillies a 4-3 win. Wise went 3-for-6 at the plate that day on top of his pitching line. Looking back on the game, he called it one of his most satisfying wins of the year, noting that the Cubs had already beaten him three times that season. “They had beaten me three times, and roughed me up in two of them,” he said, “and that plus the fact that I was going for my most wins made it big.”
Wise’s ability to help himself with the bat was no fluke. Born in Jackson, Michigan, and raised in Portland, Oregon, he had been a standout as a kid, leading his Little League team to the 1958 Little League World Series, one of the few players in history to appear in both that event and the major league World Series. He signed with the Phillies and made his big league debut on April 18, 1964, at just 18 years old. His first career win came two months later, an 8-2 decision over the Mets in the second game of a doubleheader that opened with Jim Bunning‘s perfect game.
The 1971 season that defined him
Wise’s breakout arrived in 1971. Pitching for a Phillies team that would finish last in the division, he went 17-14 with a 2.88 ERA and earned his first All-Star selection. The signature moment came on June 23 in Cincinnati, when Wise no-hit the Reds while battling the flu, and did it while also hitting two home runs of his own, a two-run shot in the fifth and a leadoff solo blast in the eighth. Only a sixth-inning walk kept it from being a perfect game. The feat made Wise one of only a handful of pitchers, alongside Wes Ferrell, Jim Tobin and Earl Wilson, to throw a no-hitter and homer in the same game. The September win over the Cubs came just a few months later, in the same remarkable season, and underscored how good Wise had become at both getting outs and delivering when it mattered with the bat.
That excellent 1971 season made Wise the centerpiece of one of baseball’s most famous trades. After the season, Cardinals owner Gussie Busch ordered star pitcher Steve Carlton dealt following a contract dispute, and with every team aware Carlton had to be moved, St. Louis couldn’t command a huge return. Wise, coming off his All-Star year, was the best offer on the table. Wise went on to win 32 games total across two seasons in St. Louis, a solid return, but Carlton won 27 games by himself for a last-place Phillies club in 1972 and finished his career with 329 wins and a spot in the Hall of Fame. Catcher Tim McCarver, who caught both men, later called it “a real good one for a real good one,” noting Wise had the better command while Carlton had the greater raw talent.
World Series glory in Boston
Wise was later traded to the Red Sox, where he won 19 games in 1975 for an AL East champion. He is best remembered in Boston for his relief appearance in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, often called the greatest game in World Series history. Wise was the pitcher of record when Carlton Fisk hit his iconic walk-off home run off the foul pole in the 12th inning against Cincinnati.
Wise was later traded to Cleveland in a deal for future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, his second career trade involving a Hall of Fame arm on the other side. He finished his career with the San Diego Padres, retiring in 1982 after 18 major league seasons. He ended with a 188-181 record, a 3.69 ERA, 1,647 strikeouts and 30 shutouts, and became the first pitcher to record a win against all 26 major league teams that existed before the 1993 expansion. He also hit 15 career home runs, a rare skill for a pitcher that made his September 18, 1971 performance, both on the mound and at the plate, entirely in character.
Philadelphia Baseball Events for September 18
- September 18, 1903 – Chick Fraser pitched a 10-0 no-hit shutout against the Chicago Cubs, with the Phillies earning nine baserunners through walks and errors.
- September 18, 1940 – Hugh Mulcahy threw 13 innings versus Cincinnati but lost 1-0 in the final frame, marking his 13th “tough loss” of the season.
- September 18, 1946 – Phillies lost pitcher Dick Mulligan on waivers to the Boston Braves.
- September 18, 1959 – Outfielder Bob Bowman appeared as a relief pitcher in the 13th inning against the Cubs, taking a loss on an unearned run.
- September 18, 1963 – The Phillies beat the Mets 5-1 in the last game ever played at the Polo Grounds; only 1,752 fans were on hand.
- September 18, 1974 – Erskine Thomason made his sole major league appearance, throwing a perfect inning of relief against the Cubs.
- September 18, 1977 – After trailing 12-2, Danny Ozark restructured the defensive lineup with six new players, but the Phillies still lost 12-5.
- September 18, 1991 – Terry Mulholland pitched a two-hitter as the Phillies won 1-0 in a game played at Veterans Stadium against Montreal.
- September 18, 2007 – Clay Condrey earned a save in a 7-4 victory over St. Louis, becoming the ninth different Phillie to record a save that season.
- September 18, 2020 – Rafael Marchan hit a three-run home run for his first major league hit; the Phillies won 8-7.
Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for September 18
- Frank Manush (born 1883) – Third baseman who appeared in 23 games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908; younger brother of Hall of Famer Heinie Manush.
- Harvey Haddix (born 1925) – Pitcher who spent two seasons with the Phillies (1956-57) in a 14-year big-league career, though he’s best remembered for throwing 12 perfect innings for Pittsburgh in 1959.
- Bill Champion (born 1947) – Right-handed pitcher for the Phillies from 1969-1972 before being traded to Milwaukee in the deal that brought Ken Brett to Philadelphia.
- Ken Brett (born 1948) – Pitcher for the Phillies in 1973 and older brother of Hall of Famer George Brett; he gave up Hank Aaron‘s 700th home run that same year.
- Don McCormack (born 1955) – Catcher who appeared in 5 games for the Phillies across 1980-81.
- Roger Mason (born 1958) – Relief pitcher for the Phillies in 1993-94 who appeared for the club in the 1993 World Series.
- Ryne Sandberg (born 1959) – Played 13 games at shortstop for the Phillies as a rookie in 1981 before being traded to the Cubs, then returned decades later to manage the team from 2013-2015.
- Joe Bisenius (born 1982) – Relief pitcher who made the Phillies’ 2007 Opening Day roster and briefly returned to the majors in 2008.
- Spencer Turnbull (born 1992) – Right-handed pitcher who signed with the Phillies in 2024 and posted a 2.65 ERA over 17 appearances before a season-ending injury.
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