Wise spent 20 years playing baseball and was coaching minor league teams. But he ran out of money. In 1990 Wise, then 45 years old, and his wife filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, reported United Press International. He had about $1.4 million in debt. Together the couple only had $101,000 in assets. And that wasn’t their only issue; the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was after them, too.

He apparently owed the federal tax agency $1.17 million in unpaid taxes from a 10-year period in his career, from 1975-1985. Adding to his troubles, tax agencies in Oregon and California were also hunting for their money from Wise’s unpaid taxes. He was down and out — bad. Wise was working as a coach, but only making $29,000 a year. His wife went to work as a nurse after years of not being employed, according to The Hartford Courant.

But their financial troubles weren’t their own doing. It was Wise’s agent that led him down the path of bankruptcy. The couple entrusted their finances to agent LaRue Harcourt because he kept a thrifty lifestyle and didn’t seem like a big spender, reported TheHartford Courant.

As it turns out, Harcourt was actually doing shady business dealings that would deeply hurt Wise financially. A portion of Wise’s earnings were given to him, while Harcourt used the rest for his personal investments. Harcourt’s plan to buy and lease planes was a bust, and a lot of money was lost as a result. Wise would lose a total of $3 million.