22 Facts About Ed Wade

On February 1,1977, the day after his 21st birthday, Ed Wade began his Major League baseball career when he accepted an internship in the Philadelphia Phillies' Public Relations department.

In October 1977, Ed Wade landed his first full-time job when he was hired as a public relations assistant for the Houston Astros and was promoted to Public Relations Director in 1979.

Ed Wade was the PR Director of the Astros in 1980 when Houston lost the dramatic five-game National League Championship Series to his former Phillies team which went on to win the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.

In May 1981, Ed Wade left Houston to become the Public Relations Director for the Pittsburgh Pirates and remained with that club for five seasons.

In 1986, Ed Wade returned to Houston to work as an associate for Tal Smith Enterprises, a firm run by Tal Smith, who had served as President and General of the Astros while Ed Wade was the club's PR Director.

Ed Wade worked for the company until May 5,1989, when he rejoined the Phillies as assistant to the general manager under GM Lee Thomas.

At the Baseball Winter Meetings in 1989, Ed Wade recommended to Thomas that the Phillies select third baseman Dave Hollins from the San Diego Padres in the Rule 5 Draft.

At the Major League Expansion Draft in November 1997, Ed Wade played a major role in GM Lee Thomas' acquisition of future All Star outfielder Bobby Abreu; Abreu had been left unprotected by the Houston Astros in the Expansion Draft and was selected by the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who then traded Abreu to the Phillies for shortstop Kevin Stocker.

Ed Wade was named as the Phillies interim general manager in December 1997, succeeding Thomas.

Ed Wade was promoted to the position of Vice President and General Manager in the spring of 1998.

Ed Wade was responsible for the trades of pitcher Curt Schilling and future Hall of Fame third baseman Scott Rolen.

On July 26,2000, Ed Wade traded Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks after Schilling's frequent criticism of the Phillies lack of spending.

In July 2002, Ed Wade traded Rolen to the St Louis Cardinals after Rolen rejected a 10-year, $140 million contract extension while questioning the team's low payroll and commitment to winning.

Early in the 2011 season, Ed Wade promoted future American League MVP second baseman Jose Altuve directly from Class AA Corpus Christi to the Major Leagues, and Altuve immediately established himself as a superstar.

The sale of the team was approved by Major League owners on November 26,2011, and Ed Wade was dismissed two days later.

Ed Wade returned to the Phillies in December 2011 as a professional scout and special consultant to General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr.

Ed Wade remained with the Phillies until his retirement in 2018.

In 2012, Ed Wade published Delayed Honor in eBook form; he added a paperback version in 2024.

Also in 2024, Ed Wade wrote Preserved Honor, a sequel to Delayed Honor; Preserved Honor is available on Amazon Kindle in both eBook and paperback formats.

Ed Wade earned his Class "A" skydiving license, having been taught how to skydive by SEAL Nix White and other members of the Leap Frogs, the Navy SEALs Parachute Team; Ed Wade finished his skydiving endeavors with 43 jumps.

An avid runner, Ed Wade has finished the full Marine Corp Marathon twice and the Houston full Marathon once.

On March 13,2025, the Phillies announced Wade would be inducted into its Wall of Fame on August 1,2025.