Wise Remains Only Player To Ever Throw a No-Hitter and Hit Two Home Runs in the Same Game

Published on March 20th, 2025 2:08 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


June 23rd, 1971 certainly didn't feel like a special day for Rick Wise when he got out of bed in the morning.

Wise was battling the flu and still didn't feel well. The 25 year-old pitcher was not about to miss his start against the Cincinnati Reds, so he threw on three shirts and made his way to the stadium.

It was a sparse crowd of around 13,000 people at Riverfront Stadium that day, as Wise and the Philadelphia Phillies were due to take on the Reds.

Little did the people in attendance know that they were about to witness history.

Wise, who wore three shirts under his uniform so that he could sweat out his flu, took to the mound. Wise was slightly distracted as he threw, thinking about the flu that he was battling. Maybe this helped to take away his nerves, as Wise was absolutely dealing to start the game.

In the third inning of the game, Wise went up to bat and cracked a home run off of pitcher Ross Grimsley. After returning to the dugout and receiving his congratulations from his teammates, Wise went back out to the mound and kept retiring Reds' hitters.

By the end of the sixth inning, a murmur started to sound through the crowd, as Wise had a no-hitter through six innings.

Wise and his teammates kept their distance from each other, as neither wanted to jinx the potential no-hitter.

In the top of the eighth inning, Wise still had his no-hitter going and was still in the game. Crack! Wise laced his second home run of the game off of Clay Carroll, giving the Phillies a comfortable 4-0 lead.

The eighth inning was three up, three down for the Reds, and Wise now had a no-hitter going into the final inning of the game.

There was not much in the way of drama in the ninth inning, as Wise calmly put away the three batters to notch a no-hitter.

Wise arguably had the best day ever for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history, as he was able to add two home runs to his total.

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In total, Wise threw 94 pitches in his no-hitter, walking only one batter and striking out two.

It was a very workmanlike no-hitter, as Wise was not exactly an overpowering pitcher.

Wise remains the only pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter and hit a home run in the same game in Major League Baseball history, and there is a very good chance that this feat is never accomplished again.