A star infielder during baseball’s Dead Ball Era he played in the years when there was just one major league – with Detroit when it was in the National League during 1881.

An aggressive base runner and fielder as of year 2012 he is one of just 161 major league baseball players with 100 or more career triples and one of less than maybe half that amount who posted 100 triples and 150 stolen bases. San Wise hit 112 triples and stole 172 bases. 

During the “Dead Ball Era” when un-kept major league infields were the “rule of the day” Sam Wise played on fields of pebbles, stones, gravel and other nasty items, when there were countless bad hops. He wore no gloves until later in his career – than a common flimsy garden-type, mushy and all - glove.

Old baseball newspaper account, our archives and baseball cards list Sam Wise as one of the top-10 fielders of this time.   Sam Wise

Our trade records indicate that on April 5, 1889 Sam Wise and teammate/first baseman/playing manager 

 John Morrill were sold by Boston to the Washington Senators of the National League.

As a batter, the 5 ft 10 inch, 170 pound Sam Wise was a great bunter, and put up some strong batting numbers for this time, including 221 doubles, 112 triples and 49 homers and a career .272 batting average ( example in 1882 George Wood of Detroit led the National League with 7 homers). He walked 389 times and struck out 643 times in 4,715 at bats, spanning 1,175 games.

Old records indicate  Sam Wise  played 563 games at shortstop, 448 at second base, 62 at 1B, 57 at 3B and 47 in the outfield. He scored over 100 runs twice – 103 in 1887 with Boston and 102 with Washington in 1893 – his last year in the majors.

www.baseballhistorian.com Archives Page 68 the Dead Ball Era   Sam Wise