Rich Nye, Signature Strength and Champions

Rich Nye pitched with the Chicago Cubs from 1966-1969.  He split the 1970 season between the Montreal Expos and the St. Louis Cardinals.  He finished with a record of 26-31 with an ERA of 3.71.  He has since been a very successful veterinarian in the Chicago area.

I met Nye many years ago at AU Sports Memorabilia Store, but I saw him recently at the Signature Strength book launch party for Champions.  Nye's former teammate Fergie Jenkins was profiled in the book co-written by George Castle and John Schenk.

It was great to see Nye come out to support his friend and the cause.  Nye and Jenkins were teammates over 45 years ago, yet they remained close over the years.  Going together through the grind of several seasons will form bonds like that.

Signature Strength also causes that type of reaction.  Many people came out just to support the athletes, signature Strength and the book.  I saw the family and friends of so many o those involved.  It was exciting and heartwarming.

Signature Strength is headed by John who has his own fascinating story and could have very well been one of the profiles in Champions.  John is a champion in every sense of the word.

Champions is just the latest of the projects Signature Strength has undertaken.  Their motto says it all, "Through sports-themed literature and more, our Mission is to help young people identify and maximize their unique strengths so they can achieve true success in their lives."  It's about overcoming obstacles and and using lessons learned to achieve greatness.

Check out SignatureStrength.org for more info on this wonderful company.  You can also purchase Champions and other books there.

Rich Nye and me in Chicago, IL-March 2018.

Cards That Never Were:Rich Nye

As most regular readers know, I have a fascination with virtual card creations for "cards that never were".  I have saluted such blogger/card creators as Cards That Never Were (at White Sox Cards), Chachi Cards (at The Phillies Room), random card creations and corrections (at Wrigley Wax), Final Tribute cards (at Garvey, Cey, Russell and Lopes) and random stuff (at Punk Rock Paint).  There is even a site called Cards That Never Were which focuses mostly on just that.
I have my regular series of Celebrity Jersey Cards, but they are mostly just silly.  Outside of that, I have occasionally done cards that never were and today is one of those occasions.
Earlier this week, I featured former major league pitcher Rich Nye in a Friendly Encounter with my bud Scott Beatty.  Nye appeared on Topps baseball cards from 1967 through 1970. Nye pitched for St. Louis and Montreal in 1970.  His '70 card lists him with the Cardinals, but it is one of those capless anonymous shots Topps often used when a player was traded.  I always hated those cards and decided to give him a real Cardinals card.

Nye did not have a card in 1971, which isn't shocking considering he pitched in only 14 games in 1970.  Still, I felt the need to give him a 1971 card, which would also be his final major league stats card (or tribute card, as some call it).

Friendly Encounters:Scott Beatty Meets Rich Nye

This is a regular series about friends who have met celebs.

Doing the write-up for Friendly Encounters is usually easy.  Unfortunately, sometimes I have to run Friendly Encounters featuring Scott Beatty.  I really don't want to say nice stuff about Scott.
Oh wait.  Scott runs AU Sports.  I can say nice things about AU Sports.  After all, it is the greatest sports cards and memorabilia store bar none.  They have the famous "wall of cards", which features about 8 feet high and 50 feet long worth of sports cards singles.  If you want a specific card, odds are they have it here (except for the 1977 Topps Mick Kelleher for some odd reason).
They have singles, sets, oddballs and shortprints.  They also have photos and other cool stuff.  They even occasionally have ex-pro athletes in for signings.
Such was the case a couple years ago, when Rich Nye was there to sign for fans.  Nye pitched for the Chicago Cubs in the late 1960's and for St. Louis and Montreal in 1970.  He became a veterinarian and still has a practice in the suburbs.
Oh, okay.  I guess I cannot finish this post without writing something nice about Scott.  He's a funny guy and a good friend, but mainly he runs the best darn sports collectibles store period!

Frank Caputo, Rich Nye and Scott Beatty in Niles, IL-Mid 2010.

Rich Nye, Animal Guy

Rich Nye was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first mlb amateur draft, but chose to remain in school at UC Berkeley, where he went on to earn a degree in Engineering. While in graduate school, he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and he realized Engineering was not his passion.
In his first full season after signing with the Cubs, Nye went 13-10 for the '67 Cubs. Nye's future looked bright. Nye would round out the Cubs pitching rotation of Fergie Jenkins, Ken Holtzman, Bill Hands and Joe Niekro.
Unfortunately, injuries hampered Nye's progression. His career ended after the '70 season with the Montral Expos. His mlb totals are 26-31.
Fortunately, Nye decided to go back to school, only this time it was veterinary school. Since then, Nye has become one of the most successful and well-known vets in the Chicago area.

Rich Nye and me at AU Sports in Skokie, IL-late 1990's.