Wyman Carey may be the closest thing to a Renaissance Man in Sun City.
In a 75-year life, Carey has gone from a kid impressing his childhood friends with his throwing arm to a high school pitching phenomenon, then to a college All-American, a pro baseball minor leaguer, a successful pharmaceutical marketing manager, a softball player in a retirement community, and finally a golfer with an incomparable claim to fame.
You may know someone who has nailed a hole-in-one on the golf course, but I’ll bet you don’t know anyone who has done it with only one arm.
From left to right, Chuck Loveisky, Wyman Carey, Tom Andersen celebrate Carey's hole in one at Craig Woods golf course on May 29. (Photo provided)
In another life, as he expresses it, Carey was an All-American, record-breaking, left-handed pitcher at Bradley University, leading the Braves to a third place finish in the College World Series in 1956. Fast forward to 2003. A traffic accident injured his spine, and he lost the use of his right arm. However, he was not about to let this slow him down athletically, and he took up one-armed golf.
On May 29, he and fellow Sun Citians Otto Volkmann and Tom Andersen were playing at the Craig Woods nine-hole course near Woodstock. Carey has only played golf in the last few years. “When I swing at the ball, I never know if it’s going to go 150 yards straight or three feet to the right,” he said.
On the eighth hole this day, however, he hit the ball well and it flew directly toward the hole, 110 yards away. “All three of us watched the ball head straight for the flag. It rolled and rolled, and then it disappeared,” he said. “Suddenly, we all realized it was in the hole. Otto and Tom started yelling to everyone on the course and to our other threesome friends behind us, ‘It’s a hole in one! It’s a hole in one!’ I also remember thinking how weird it was because there was some water near the green, and I always seem to hit my balls into the water, wherever it is.
“Some guys play scratch golf all their lives, and never have this happen,” Carey said. “I did it after a few years of playing with one arm. I only played golf about three times before the accident. It illustrates one true thing about golf – the reason for a hole in one is, you’re lucky.”
But Carey’s story is much more than a thrill on a golf course.
His exploits on a baseball field were the stuff of legend. He grew up in Chicago and was a standout pitcher at Blue Island High School in the early 1950s. He tossed three no-hitters there in his senior season. His performances earned him a partial scholarship to Bradley University, where he played for legendary Braves coach Leo Schrall. He set seven pitching records in three seasons at Bradley, several of which still stand 55 years later. He compiled a 24-4 record, with a 2.06 career earned run average with 261 strikeouts. His career ERA remains the lowest mark in Bradley history among pitchers with at least 100 career innings. His strikeout total remained the school record until this past April, when it was broken by current Braves standout Joe Bircher.
Carey was the star of the best team in Bradley history – the 1956 outfit that soared to third place in the NCAA College World Series. He fanned 120 hitters that season, a mark that still stands, and won both of Bradley’s wins in the national tournament. In his final season, in 1957, he led the nation with a remarkable 0.37 earned run average by allowing only three earned runs in 73.1 innings and posting an 8-1 record with 95 strikeouts. The 0.37 ERA mark is believed to be one of the top-10 in NCAA Division I baseball history. After his 1957 season, he was named an All-American. He is now a member of the City of Blue Island, the Bradley University, and the Greater Peoria Sports Halls of Fame.
“I was always good at striking guys out,” Carey said. “As a kid, I discovered when I was seven years old that I could throw a ball hard and accurately. We didn’t have organized little leagues then, but I played on gravel fields and sandlots all the time. When I pitched at Bradley, I threw two pitches, a fast ball that moved a lot, and a curve ball. I threw them both very hard, and I just challenged hitters.”
On May 17 of this year, Bircher and Carey met and were honored at a Braves game in Peoria. Carey and his wife, Carol, were given a tour of Bradley’s baseball and athletic facilities, and he autographed the baseball used by Bircher to break his career strikeout total of 261.
“I found out from the Bradley website that Bircher broke my career strikeout record, and it was even more exciting when I learned he was a lefty,” Carey said. “So the college folks arranged for us to meet. I was amazed and impressed with the wonderful facilities they have down there now,” Carey said. “When I played, basketball was the big sport at the university, and we played at a local recreational field surrounded by a running track. Our left fielder stood on the track under a large tree.
“I didn’t play my senior year at Bradley, because I decided to play pro ball,” Carey recalled. “They didn’t have a draft in those days, but scouts from the Detroit Tigers noticed me, and I signed with them. I played seven years of minor league ball and spent spring training every year with the Tigers. But the highest I ever got was triple-A ball. I got my degree during that time, and then I got into pharmaceutical sales and eventually into medical publishing.”
Carey came to Sun City in 2001 and was delighted to discover the community’s softball league.
“I played a couple of years there until the accident occurred,” he said. After an 18-month rehab, he had the use of, but no feeling, in his left arm, but no ability to uses his right.
“I got to know Chuck Loveisky, who had a stroke and also lives in N10, and he and I started talking about golf. We found out about an organization called Revelation Golf, which teaches disabled persons how to play with one arm. I eventually developed some ability with it, and now I play once a week with guys on some of the nine-hole courses around here. We have a lot of fun together.”
Just like while on the mound at Bradley, it didn’t take Carey long to do something very special on the green.
“I hope that other disabled persons who read this might get inspired to try things to keep themselves active,” Carey said.
