It usually takes patience and a little urging to get Harry Wise going, but once underway, he’s a fascinating storyteller.
Although he was a three-sport coach, he is known for coaching the Englewood High School baseball team over a span of 35 years starting in 1958. Wise, 82, also was a player and manager in the Basin League and spent most of his time with the team in Winner, S.D.
“There wasn’t a major-league baseball draft in those days,” Wise said. “Most of the good amateur players would play in the summer leagues like the Basin League for the experience and so they would be seen by the scouts.”
Wise began his association with the Basin League in 1959. He also accepted scouting duties with the Baltimore Orioles.
The 1963 season at Winner stands out. Wise had hot prospects in pitchers Jim Palmer and Jim Lonborg and outfielder Merv Rettenmund. All three went on to lengthy careers in the big leagues, Palmer going to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
“Palmer was pretty green out of high school at that time,” Wise said. “He threw a no-hitter and struck out 18 for us in one of his starts. There must have been 30 scouts in the stands.”
The difficult part for Wise was getting Palmer’s signature on a contract with the Orioles.
While the Basin League was a rewarding part of the baseball culture for Wise, there was a national culture during his days as a player that left a different mark. In 1953, Wise was pitching for Macon, Ga., in the Southern League.
“I saw signs I never had seen before,” Wise said. “I saw ‘whites only’ over drinking fountains. At the gates it would say ‘whites to the right, blacks to the coal bin.’ When our team went to another town, our black players had to stay in what they called ‘Black Town.’ Hank Aaron played for Jacksonville, and he was treated the same way.”
The experience was an eye-opener for Wise. He grew up and went to high school in the small farming community of Platteville, a few miles south of Greeley.
“I don’t think I ever saw a black person when I was growing up,” Wise said. “But when you’re in sports, it’s different. You learn everybody is the same. I had heard how difficult Ted Williams could be. A couple of us got to visit a park where the Red Sox were playing, and he stopped and talked to us for an hour.”
At Platteville, Wise played football, basketball and ran track because there wasn’t a baseball team. He was recruited by Colorado State College athletic director John Hancock to go to Greeley. His first year in college was cut short by the military draft, but he returned in 1947.
Although he led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in scoring in basketball, the highlight for Wise came in baseball. In a doubleheader against Southern California, Wise pitched the Bears to a 6-2 victory in the first game. As he was coming off the field, he heard coach Pete Butler say, “Great job, but by the way, you’re pitching the second game too.”
The Bears lost the second game, although Wise left the mound with the lead. Wise’s high school coaching career began at Cheyenne Wells. His 1953 basketball team won a state championship. He moved to Trinidad State Junior College and then to Englewood in 1958.
“We had some good pitchers at Englewood,” Wise said. “Mike Wegener and Doug Nurnberg were a couple of the better ones.”
Wegener pitched in the major leagues, but Nurnberg drifted away from baseball after high school.
The Pirates made it to the state baseball championship game in 1960 but lost to Denver South and coach Dick Yates.
Wise has been retired for 27 years. He plays bridge and watches baseball on television — mostly American League games.
Wise, who also coached girls volleyball for 18 years at Englewood, said he received his zest for sports from his father, Harry Wise, who played at Merchants Park, the old wooden stadium on South Broadway.
“The high points for me were signing Jim Palmer and the doubleheader against USC,” Wise said. “The only regret I have is not making it to the big leagues.”
Wise bio
Born: Nov. 18, 1927, in Platteville
High school: Platteville High School
College: Colorado State College
Family: Wife Lois, daughters Deborah and Lori Sue, son Michael
Hobbies: Playing bridge
In the books: Celebrated his 59th wedding anniversary two weeks ago.
