Excerpt from The Piqua Daily Call
The best way to describe Piqua’s Gordon Wise is as an amazing man who has lived amazing life.
Consider that he once had his photo taken with George Mikan after an exhibition basketball game at Hobart Arena, that he brought some of the best softball in the state —- and sometimes country — to Piqua for nine years as founder, general manager and for a few years, field manger of the Piqua Fastballers, that he was in attendence at the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament long before it became the extravaganza it is now and he was a man involved in some way in many important projects in the City of Piqua through the years.
Wise was inducted in the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame in 2006.
But, the husband of Susie Wise and father of Kent, Kevin, Cindy, Lori, Jennifer, Katie and Becky is probably best known as the voice of “Raider Roundball” at Wright State University.
He was the PA announcer from the first Wright State basketball game until he retired last season after 49 years.
So, it is only fitting that he will be inducted into the Wright State University Hall of Fame Friday night and will be honored at the men’s basketball game Saturday.
“I got phone call,” Wise said about how he found about his upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame at WSU. “I wouldn’t say I was shocked, but I was thrilled. It is a tremendous honor.”
But, Wise doesn’t want overlooked something else that brought him great joy. He was a marketing professor at Miami University and Wright State for more than 50 years.
“Being a college professor for 51 years,” Wise said. “Being around young people for all that time. I can’t think of anything much better than that. I probably enjoyed that as much as being a PA announcer.”
