ABC/Wikimedia Commons Susan Noles and her ex husband Dickie Noles.
Fan-favorite “Golden Bachelor” contestant Susan Noles didn’t really talk about her personal life much on the show. One big thing many fans may not know: Noles’ ex-husband was a famous Major League baseball player who struggled with, and then overcame, problems with alcohol.
Noles was married to former Major League Baseball player Dickie Noles, and they had three children together, a daughter and two sons, Chris and Nicky, according to Distractify.
Many fans want Noles to be the Golden Bachelorette, and they are gushing over the photos Susan Noles has been sharing of her son Nicky Noles during a family vacation to Mexico.
We caught up with Baseball Hall of Famer @31fergiejenkins and retired MLB pitcher Dickie Noles. They shared some thoughts on how sports teach important life lessons. #hardwork #determination
Here’s what you need to know:
Susan Noles’ Ex-Husband Dickie Noles Was a Pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies
Dickie Noles throws at George Brett
According to Delco Today, Noles’ ex-husband is best known as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. However, he played for other professional baseball teams, such as the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and the Baltimore Orioles.
Susan Noles today runs a wedding officiating business in Pennsylvania, according to the newspaper.
Noles’ ex-husband currently works for the Philadelphia Phillies, according to his LinkedIn page.
According to MLB.com, Dickie Ray Noles was born in 1956 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was drafted by the Phillies in 1975 in round four, the 84th overall pick. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and he made his Major League Baseball debut in 1979.
#OTD in 1987 the Chicago Cubs traded pitcher Dickie Noles to Detroit for a player to be named later. After 33 days the Tigers named Noles that player and sent him back to Chicago. He is one of only four players in MLB history to be traded for himself.
He had a 4.56 career ERA in the regular season and a 36-53 win-loss record, according to MLB.com.
Dickie Noles, Who Made a Legendary Pitch in the World Series, Battled Alcoholism But Has Been Sober for Decades
Random 80s at bat: Dickie Noles vs Ozzie Smith in 1987.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Dickie Noles “changed the World Series with one pitch, then changed his life by getting sober.”
“The Phillies reliever was a hero after his fastball sent George Brett diving to the dirt in Game 4,” the newspaper reported.
However, the following year, according to the Inquirer, he was “sent to the minors after being arrested at a Clearwater bar. Noles battled alcoholism and has been sober for more than 37 years.”
The newspaper reported that Dickie Noles was involved in “a crazed bar fight, and ended in a holding cell shared with the biker with whom he traded blows.” He soon ended up back in the Majors.
There were other issues. According to the Inquirer, “He had a gun pointed at his head in the parking lot of a Clearwater motel but was too drunk to be scared, was kicked out of Venezuela after drunkenly trashing his winter-ball apartment, and fought with police outside a Cincinnati bar.” Noles retired from playing baseball in 1990.
Susan Noles Once Said Her Husband Had a ‘Violent Streak’
ABCSusan Noles
In 1984, Susan told the Cincinnati Enquirer, accessed through Newspapers.com, that she had met Dickie two years before that, adding, “Everyone warned me about what a wild person he was. I had heard so many bad things. I didn’t realize at the time that he had a drinking problem. I used to drink right along with him and get loaded. But I found out he has a real violent streak in him. Something in the back of my mind told me there was no future for us if he doesn’t get help.”
NJ.com reported in 2012 that Dickie Noles turned to mentoring others who are troubled by substance abuse.
The column contains a story about Susan. It says that Dickie Noles “returned home to find his twin sons, and the inside of his Delaware County house, covered in red lipstick.”
“His wife Susan led Dickie through a series of hallways riddled in red,” the column says.
It’s not clear when the couple divorced. Their daughter was born in 1985, according to a birth announcement in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, accessed via Newspapers.com. In 1991, they purchased a home together in Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, also accessed through Newspapers.com.
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Susan Noles’ Ex Husband Was a Famous, Troubled Baseball Player