Dick Allen
Encyclopedia
Richard Anthony Allen is a former Major League Baseball
player and R&B singer. He played first and third base
and outfield
in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s. Most notably playing for the Philadelphia Phillies
and Chicago White Sox
, he led the American League
in home run
s twice, and led both leagues in slugging average (the AL twice) and on base percentage
. His .534 career slugging average was among the highest in an era marked by low averages. He won the 1964 National League
Rookie of the Year and 1972 AL MVP
. He also spoke his mind, combatted racism
, and bucked organizational hierarchy. Sabermetrician
Bill James
rated Dick Allen as the second-most controversial player in baseball history, behind Rogers Hornsby
.
His older brother Hank
was a reserve outfielder
for three AL teams, and his younger brother Ron was briefly a first baseman with the 1972 St. Louis Cardinals
.
and Jimmie Foxx
. The Phillies saw his potential immediately and signed him in for a large $70,000 bonus. His career got off to a turbulent start as he faced racial harassment while playing for the Phillies' minor league
affiliate in Little Rock
; residents staged protest parades against Allen, the local team's first black player. Nevertheless, he led the league in total bases
.
His first season in the majors, 1964
, ranks among the greatest rookie seasons ever. He led the league in runs
(125), triples
(13), extra base hit
s (80) and total bases (352); he finished in the top five in batting average
(.318), slugging average (.557), hits
(201), and doubles
(38); and won Rookie of the Year. Playing for the first time at third base, he led the league with 41 errors. Dick Allen, along with outfielder Johnny Callison
and pitchers Chris Short
and Jim Bunning
, led the Phillies to a six-and-a-half game hold on first place with just twelve games to play in an exceptionally strong National League. The '64 Phillies then lost ten straight games and finished tied for second place. The skein's first loss had Chico Ruiz
steal home with Frank Robinson
batting for the game's only run. In "Crash, The Life and Times of Dick Allen," by Tim Whitaker, Allen stated that the play "Broke our humps." Despite the Phillies collapse, Allen hit .438 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and 11 RBI in those last twelve games. A 1964 Phillies pennant win would've given Dick Allen a realistic shot at winning that year's Most Valuable Player
award.
Before scientific weight training, muscle-building dietary supplements, and anabolic steroids, Dick Allen boasted a powerful and muscular physique along the lines of Mickey Mantle
and Jimmie Foxx
. Indeed, baseball historian Bill Jenkinson ranks Allen with Foxx and Mantle, and just a notch below Babe Ruth
, as the four top long distance sluggers ever to wield a baseball bat. A segment of MLB Network's Prime 9, aired February 7, 2011, concured with Jenkinson's findings. On that same broadcast, Willie Mays
stated that Dick Allen hit a ball harder than any player he had ever seen. Dick Allen, like Babe Ruth, hit with heavy bat. Allen's 40-ouncer bucked the Ted Williams
-inspired trend of using a light bat for increased bat speed. Dick Allen combined massive strength and body torque to produce bat speed and drive the ball. 18 of his drives cleared Connie Mack Stadium
's 65-foot-high left field Grandstand. Twice Dick Allen cleared that park's 65-foot-high right center field scoreboard: a feat considered virtually impossible for a right-handed hitter. Allen hit perhaps his most memorable Philadelphia homerun off of the Cardinal's Ray Washburn
in 1965 when he cleared Connie Mack Stadium's left center field roof Coke sign. That homerun, an estimated 529-footer, inspired Willie Stargell
to say: "Now I know why they (the Phillies fans) boo Richie all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenir
.
Allen enjoyed several years in Philadelphia where he was as good as any player in baseball, making All-Star
teams from 1965
–67
(in the latter of these three games, he hit a home run off Dean Chance
) and leading the league in slugging (.632), OPS
(1.027) and extra base hits (75) in . Frank Robinson
, the American League MVP, won the triple crown for leading the AL in home runs, RBI, and BA in 1966. Yet, Dick Allen had the better season per at-bat.
Non-baseball incidents soon marred Allen's Philadelphia career. In July 1965 he got in an infamous fistfight with fellow Phillie Frank Thomas
. According to two teammates who witnessed the fight, Thomas swung a bat at Allen, hitting him in the shoulder. Johnny Callison
said, "Thomas got himself fired when he swung that bat at Richie. In baseball you don't swing a bat at another player—ever." Pat Corrales
confirmed that Thomas hit Allen with a bat and added that Thomas was a "bully" known for making racially divisive remarks. Allen and his teammates were not permitted to give their side of the story under threat of a heavy fine. The Phillies released Thomas the next day. That made the fans and local sports writers not only see Allen as costing a white player his job, but freed Thomas to give his version of the fight. In an hour-long interview aired December 15, 2009, on the MLB Network
's Studio 42 with Bob Costas, Allen asserted that he and Thomas are in fact good friends now.
Even Allen's name was a source of controversy: he had been known since his youth as "Dick" to family and friends, but for reasons which are still somewhat obscure, the media referred to him upon his arrival in Philadelphia as "Richie", possibly a conflation with the longtime Phillies star Richie Ashburn
. After leaving the Phillies, he asked to be called "Dick", saying Richie was a little boy's name. In his dual career as an R&B singer, the label on his records with the Groovy Grooves firm slated him as "Rich" Allen.
Some of the Phillies' own fans, known for being tough on hometown players even in the best of times, exacerbated Allen's problems. Initially the abuse was verbal, with obscenities and racial epithets. Eventually Allen was greeted with showers of fruit, ice, refuse, and even flashlight batteries as he took the field. He began wearing his batting helmet even while playing his position in the field, which gave rise to another nickname
, "Crash Helmet", shortened to "Crash".
He almost ended his career in 1967
after mangling his throwing hand by pushing it through a car headlight. Allen was fined $2,500 and suspended indefinitely in 1969
when he failed to appear for the Phillies twi-night doubleheader game with the New York Mets
. Allen had gone to New Jersey
in the morning to see a horse race, and got caught in traffic trying to return.
Philadelphia 76ers
game. The Philadelphia Inquirer printed a review of his performance: "Here came Rich Allen. Flowered shirt. Tie six-inches (152 mm) wide. Hiphugger bell-bottomed pants. A microphone in his hands. Rich Allen the most booed man in Philadelphia from April to October, when Eagles coach Joe Kuharich takes over, walked out in front of 9,557 people at the Spectrum last night to sing with his group, The Ebonistics, and a most predictable thing happened. He was booed. Two songs later though, a most unpredictable thing happened. They cheered Rich Allen. They cheered him as warmly as they have ever cheered him for a game winning home run." Although his music career was not nearly as substantial as Milwaukee Braves outfielder Arthur Lee Maye
, Dick Allen did gain lasting praise for a recording on the Groovy Grooves label titled, "Echoes of November." Echoes of November is featured in the Philles official hundred year anniversary video and the novel 64 Intruder.
In 2010, Brazilian pop star Ana Volans rerecorded Echoes of November. Her rendition of Echoes of November sold briskly in Brazil
. The CD's jacket contains a dedication to Dick Allen and his Hall of Fame candidacy.
, he gave US$40,000 to his mother. Even though he attempted to avoid paying income tax on the $40,000, the court held he was both responsible for the taxes and not able to make a trade or business deduction for the amount.
refused to report to the Phillies as part of the trade. (Flood then sued baseball in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the reserve clause
and to be declared a free agent
.) Ironically, the player the Phillies received as compensation for Flood not reporting, Willie Montanez
, hit 30-home runs as a 1971 rookie to eclipse Dick Allen's Phillies rookie home run record of 29, set in 1964.
Allen earned another All-Star berth in St. Louis, and his personal problems seemed to abate. The Cardinals even acceded to his wishes regarding his name, as Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck
made a point from game one of calling him Dick Allen.
Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst
recalled that when he was asked, before Allen's acquisition, if he wanted Allen, he had said "no" because he'd heard Allen had a bad attitude, and the team didn't need him. After the season, when Schoendienst was asked if Allen should be traded, he said "no", since Allen had helped the team and his attitude was not a problem.
Decades before Mark McGwire
, Dick Allen entertained the St. Louis fans with some long home runs, at least one of them landing in the seats above the club level in left field. As Jack Buck said at the time, "Some of the folks in the stadium club might have choked on a chicken leg when they saw that one coming!" Nevertheless the Cardinals traded Allen to the Los Angeles Dodgers
before the 1971 season.
, Allen was traded to the White Sox
for Tommy John
prior to the season. For various reasons, Allen's previous managers had shuffled him around on defense, playing him at first base, third base, and the outfield in no particular order—a practice which almost certainly weakened his defensive play, and which may have contributed to his frequent injuries, not to mention his perceived bad attitude. Sox manager Chuck Tanner
's low-key style of handling ballplayers made it possible for Allen to thrive, for a while, on the South Side. He decided to play Allen exclusively at first base, which allowed him to concentrate on hitting. That first year, his first in the American League
, Allen almost single-handedly lifted the entire team to second place in the AL West, as he led the league in home runs (37) (setting a team record), RBI
(113), walks
(99), on base percentage (.422), slugging average (.603), and OPS (1.023), while winning a well-deserved MVP award. However, the Sox fell short at the end and finished 5½ games behind the World Series–bound Oakland Athletics
.
Allen's feats during his years with the White Sox—particularly in that MVP season of 1972—are spoken of reverently by South Side fans who credit him with saving the franchise for Chicago (it was rumored to be bound for St.Petersburg or Seattle at the time). His powerful swing sent home runs deep into some of cavernous old Comiskey Park
's farthest reaches, including the roof and even the distant (445 ft) center field bleachers, a rare feat at one of baseball's most pitcher-friendly stadiums. On July 31, 1972, against the Minnesota Twins
, Allen became the first player in baseball's "modern era" to hit two inside-the-park home run
s in one game in an 8–1 victory. Both homers were hit off Bert Blyleven
at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium. On July 6, 1974, at Detroit
's Tiger Stadium, he lined a homer off the roof facade in deep left-center field at a linear distance of approximately 415 feet (126.5 m) and an altitude of 85 feet (25.9 m). Anecdotal and mathematical evidence agreed that Allen's clout would've easily surpassed 500 ft (152.4 m) on the fly.
The Sox were favored by many to make the playoffs in 1973
, but those hopes were dashed due in large measure to the fractured fibula that Allen suffered in June. (He tried to return five weeks after injuring the leg in a collision with Mike Epstein
of the A's
, but the pain ended his season after just one game in which he batted 3-for-5.) Despite his making the All-Star team in each of three years with the team, Allen's stay in Chicago ended in controversy when he left the team on September 14 with two weeks left in the 1974 season
. In Crash, his autobiography
(co-written with Tim Whitaker), Allen blamed his feud with third-baseman Ron Santo
, who was playing a final, undistinguished season with the White Sox after leaving the crosstown Chicago Cubs
.
With Allen's intention to continue playing baseball uncertain, the Sox reluctantly sold his contract to the Atlanta Braves
for only $5,000, despite the fact that he had led the league in home runs, slugging (.563), and OPS (.938). Allen refused to report to the Braves and announced his retirement.
. The lay-off and nagging effects of his 1973 broken leg hampered his play. His numbers improved in 1976
, a Phillies division winner, although he only played in 85 games. He continued his tape measure legacy during his second go-round with the Phillies. On August 22, 1975, Allen smashed a homer into the seldom reached upperdeck at San Diego's
Qualcomm (née Jack Murphy) Stadium.
He played his final season with the Oakland Athletics
in 1977.
. He has written (with Tim Whitaker) an autobiography
titled Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen, which Bill James
has called "one of the best baseball books in recent years". For many years Allen held the distinction of the highest slugging percentage among players eligible for but not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This only ended in 2006, when Albert Belle
became eligible but was not elected. Whether Allen is worthy of the Hall of Fame has been hotly debated, with many people arguing he is the best player not in the Hall.http://www.expressfan.com/dickallenhof/ The arguments usually center around his very high career averages, batting
(.292), slugging (.534), and on-base (.378). They also point out that he began his career during the mid-1960s, a period so dominated by pitchers that it is sometimes called the "second dead ball era". Allen also played some of his career in pitcher-friendly parks such as Busch Memorial Stadium
, Dodger Stadium
, and Comiskey Park
. http://www.h-net.org/~hns/articles/2005/080805a.html
Detractors of his Hall of Fame credentials argue that his career was not as long as most Hall of Famers, so he does not have the career cumulative numbers that others do. They also argue that his poor defense and bad clubhouse presence took away from his teams much of what his bat gave them.http://www.baseballcrank.com/archives2/2002/05/baseball_cansec.php But according to the two managers for whom Allen played the longest – Gene Mauch
of the Phillies and Chuck Tanner
of the White Sox – he was not a "clubhouse lawyer" who harmed team chemistry. Asked if Allen's behavior ever had a negative influence on the team, Mauch said: "Never." According to Tanner, "Dick was the leader of our team, the captain, the manager on the field. He took care of the young kids, took them under his wing. And he played every game as if it was his last day on earth."http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/index.php?category=11&id=2065
2008 Hall of Fame inductee Rich Gossage
confirmed Tanner's view during ESPN
's interview show with Gossage and Dick Williams
. Gossage talked about how Dick Allen had worked with him to learn more about the league's hitters, to help make him a more effective pitcher. Also in 2008, another of Allen's ex-White Sox teammates, pitcher Stan Bahnsen
, said, "I actually thought that Dick was better than his stats. Every time we needed a clutch hit, he got it. He got along great with his teammates and he was very knowledgeable about the game. He was the ultimate team guy." http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/index.php?category=11&id=3729 Another Hall of Fame teammate, Mike Schmidt
, credited Dick Allen in his book, "Clearing the Bases," as his mentor. In a Mike Schmidt biography written by historian William C. Kashatus, Mike Schmidt fondly recalls Dick Allen mentoring him before a game in Chicago in 1976, saying to him, "Mike, you've got to relax. You've got to have some fun. Remember when you were just a kid and you'd skip supper to play ball? You were having fun. Hey, with all the talent you've got, baseball ought to be fun. Enjoy it. Be a kid again." Mike Schmidt responded by hitting four home runs in that game. Mike Schmidt is quoted in the same book, "The baseball writers used to claim that Dick would divide the clubhouse along racial lines. That was a lie. The truth is that Dick never divided any clubhouse."
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player and R&B singer. He played first and third base
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
and outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s. Most notably playing for the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, he led the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
in home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s twice, and led both leagues in slugging average (the AL twice) and on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
. His .534 career slugging average was among the highest in an era marked by low averages. He won the 1964 National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Rookie of the Year and 1972 AL MVP
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
. He also spoke his mind, combatted racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and bucked organizational hierarchy. Sabermetrician
Sabermetrics
Sabermetrics is the specialized analysis of baseball through objective, empirical evidence, specifically baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research...
Bill James
Bill James
George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...
rated Dick Allen as the second-most controversial player in baseball history, behind Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby, Sr. , nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball . He played for the St. Louis Cardinals , New York Giants , Boston Braves , Chicago Cubs , and St. Louis Browns...
.
His older brother Hank
Hank Allen
Harold Andrew "Hank" Allen is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators , Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox ....
was a reserve outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
for three AL teams, and his younger brother Ron was briefly a first baseman with the 1972 St. Louis Cardinals
1972 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 91st season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 81st season in the National League. The Cardinals went 75-81 during the season and finished fourth in the National League East, 21½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates....
.
Phillies years
Allen hit a baseball with an authority Philadelphia fans had not seen since Chuck KleinChuck Klein
Charles Herbert "Chuck" Klein was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Philadelphia Phillies , Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates ....
and Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....
. The Phillies saw his potential immediately and signed him in for a large $70,000 bonus. His career got off to a turbulent start as he faced racial harassment while playing for the Phillies' minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
affiliate in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
; residents staged protest parades against Allen, the local team's first black player. Nevertheless, he led the league in total bases
Total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....
.
His first season in the majors, 1964
1964 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies season was the 82nd season for the franchise in Philadelphia. The Phillies finished in a second-place tie in the National League with the Cincinnati Reds, while posting a record of 92-70. The teams finished one game behind the NL and World Series champion St. Louis...
, ranks among the greatest rookie seasons ever. He led the league in runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
(125), triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(13), extra base hit
Extra base hit
In baseball, an extra base hit , also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire another base runner...
s (80) and total bases (352); he finished in the top five in batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
(.318), slugging average (.557), hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
(201), and doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(38); and won Rookie of the Year. Playing for the first time at third base, he led the league with 41 errors. Dick Allen, along with outfielder Johnny Callison
Johnny Callison
John Wesley Callison was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1960 to 1969...
and pitchers Chris Short
Chris Short
Christopher Joseph "Style" Short was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies , and in his final year, for the Milwaukee Brewers . He was a left-handed pitcher, but batted righty. He was born in Milford, Delaware.Short was considered a top pitcher from 1964 through 1968 with...
and Jim Bunning
Jim Bunning
James Paul David "Jim" Bunning is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and politician.During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1955 to 1971, most notably with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. When he retired, he had the second-highest total of career...
, led the Phillies to a six-and-a-half game hold on first place with just twelve games to play in an exceptionally strong National League. The '64 Phillies then lost ten straight games and finished tied for second place. The skein's first loss had Chico Ruiz
Chico Ruiz
Hiraldo Ruiz Sablon , was a professional baseball player who played as an infielder in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels .He is the only Major League player ever to pinch-hit for Johnny Bench...
steal home with Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...
batting for the game's only run. In "Crash, The Life and Times of Dick Allen," by Tim Whitaker, Allen stated that the play "Broke our humps." Despite the Phillies collapse, Allen hit .438 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and 11 RBI in those last twelve games. A 1964 Phillies pennant win would've given Dick Allen a realistic shot at winning that year's Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
award.
Before scientific weight training, muscle-building dietary supplements, and anabolic steroids, Dick Allen boasted a powerful and muscular physique along the lines of Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
and Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....
. Indeed, baseball historian Bill Jenkinson ranks Allen with Foxx and Mantle, and just a notch below Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, as the four top long distance sluggers ever to wield a baseball bat. A segment of MLB Network's Prime 9, aired February 7, 2011, concured with Jenkinson's findings. On that same broadcast, Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
stated that Dick Allen hit a ball harder than any player he had ever seen. Dick Allen, like Babe Ruth, hit with heavy bat. Allen's 40-ouncer bucked the Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
-inspired trend of using a light bat for increased bat speed. Dick Allen combined massive strength and body torque to produce bat speed and drive the ball. 18 of his drives cleared Connie Mack Stadium
Connie Mack Stadium
Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a major league baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When it opened April 12, 1909, it became baseball's first steel-and-concrete stadium. In different eras it was home to "The $100,000 Infield", "The Whiz Kids" and "The 1964 Phold"...
's 65-foot-high left field Grandstand. Twice Dick Allen cleared that park's 65-foot-high right center field scoreboard: a feat considered virtually impossible for a right-handed hitter. Allen hit perhaps his most memorable Philadelphia homerun off of the Cardinal's Ray Washburn
Ray Washburn
Ray Clark Washburn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Washburn, a right-hander, pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from to and the Cincinnati Reds in ....
in 1965 when he cleared Connie Mack Stadium's left center field roof Coke sign. That homerun, an estimated 529-footer, inspired Willie Stargell
Willie Stargell
Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell , nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
to say: "Now I know why they (the Phillies fans) boo Richie all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenir
Souvenir
A souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...
.
Allen enjoyed several years in Philadelphia where he was as good as any player in baseball, making All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
teams from 1965
1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 36th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1965 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota...
–67
1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 38th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 11, 1967 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. The game resulted...
(in the latter of these three games, he hit a home run off Dean Chance
Dean Chance
Wilmer Dean Chance is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Over the right hander's 11-year major league career, he would play for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers...
) and leading the league in slugging (.632), OPS
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...
(1.027) and extra base hits (75) in . Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...
, the American League MVP, won the triple crown for leading the AL in home runs, RBI, and BA in 1966. Yet, Dick Allen had the better season per at-bat.
Non-baseball incidents soon marred Allen's Philadelphia career. In July 1965 he got in an infamous fistfight with fellow Phillie Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas (NL baseball player)
Frank Joseph Thomas is a former left fielder and first and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Cincinnati Reds , Chicago Cubs , Milwaukee Braves , New York Mets , Philadelphia Phillies , and the Houston Astros...
. According to two teammates who witnessed the fight, Thomas swung a bat at Allen, hitting him in the shoulder. Johnny Callison
Johnny Callison
John Wesley Callison was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1960 to 1969...
said, "Thomas got himself fired when he swung that bat at Richie. In baseball you don't swing a bat at another player—ever." Pat Corrales
Pat Corrales
Patrick Corrales , is a former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who played from 1964–1973, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds, but also for the Philadelphia Phillies, St...
confirmed that Thomas hit Allen with a bat and added that Thomas was a "bully" known for making racially divisive remarks. Allen and his teammates were not permitted to give their side of the story under threat of a heavy fine. The Phillies released Thomas the next day. That made the fans and local sports writers not only see Allen as costing a white player his job, but freed Thomas to give his version of the fight. In an hour-long interview aired December 15, 2009, on the MLB Network
MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
's Studio 42 with Bob Costas, Allen asserted that he and Thomas are in fact good friends now.
Even Allen's name was a source of controversy: he had been known since his youth as "Dick" to family and friends, but for reasons which are still somewhat obscure, the media referred to him upon his arrival in Philadelphia as "Richie", possibly a conflation with the longtime Phillies star Richie Ashburn
Richie Ashburn
Don Richard "Richie" Ashburn , also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" due to his light-blond hair, was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. He was born in Tilden, Nebraska...
. After leaving the Phillies, he asked to be called "Dick", saying Richie was a little boy's name. In his dual career as an R&B singer, the label on his records with the Groovy Grooves firm slated him as "Rich" Allen.
Some of the Phillies' own fans, known for being tough on hometown players even in the best of times, exacerbated Allen's problems. Initially the abuse was verbal, with obscenities and racial epithets. Eventually Allen was greeted with showers of fruit, ice, refuse, and even flashlight batteries as he took the field. He began wearing his batting helmet even while playing his position in the field, which gave rise to another nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
, "Crash Helmet", shortened to "Crash".
He almost ended his career in 1967
1967 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies season consisted of the Phillies' 82-80 finish, good for fifth place in the National League, 19½ games behind the NL and World Series Champion St...
after mangling his throwing hand by pushing it through a car headlight. Allen was fined $2,500 and suspended indefinitely in 1969
1969 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the newly-established National League East with a record of 63-99, 37 games behind the division champion New York Mets.- Offseason :...
when he failed to appear for the Phillies twi-night doubleheader game with the New York Mets
1967 New York Mets season
The New York Mets season was the 6th regular season for the Mets. They went 61-101 and finished 10th in the National League, 40½ games behind the NL pennant and World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They were managed by Wes Westrum and Salty Parker...
. Allen had gone to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in the morning to see a horse race, and got caught in traffic trying to return.
Music career
Dick Allen was a true professional singer. He sang in a high, delicate tenor that belied his powerful body. The tone and texture of his voice has even drawn comparisons to esteemed Harptones' lead singer Willie Winfield. During Allen's time with the Sixties era Phillies, he sang lead with a doo wop group called the Ebonistics. Dick Allen and the Ebonistics sang professionally at Philadelphia night clubs. He once entertained during halftime of an NBANational Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
game. The Philadelphia Inquirer printed a review of his performance: "Here came Rich Allen. Flowered shirt. Tie six-inches (152 mm) wide. Hiphugger bell-bottomed pants. A microphone in his hands. Rich Allen the most booed man in Philadelphia from April to October, when Eagles coach Joe Kuharich takes over, walked out in front of 9,557 people at the Spectrum last night to sing with his group, The Ebonistics, and a most predictable thing happened. He was booed. Two songs later though, a most unpredictable thing happened. They cheered Rich Allen. They cheered him as warmly as they have ever cheered him for a game winning home run." Although his music career was not nearly as substantial as Milwaukee Braves outfielder Arthur Lee Maye
Lee Maye
Arthur Lee Maye was a Major League Baseball player. He played eleven seasons in the majors as an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves , Houston Astros , Cleveland Indians , Washington Senators , and Chicago White Sox .Maye was also well known as a Rhythm & Blues singer...
, Dick Allen did gain lasting praise for a recording on the Groovy Grooves label titled, "Echoes of November." Echoes of November is featured in the Philles official hundred year anniversary video and the novel 64 Intruder.
In 2010, Brazilian pop star Ana Volans rerecorded Echoes of November. Her rendition of Echoes of November sold briskly in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The CD's jacket contains a dedication to Dick Allen and his Hall of Fame candidacy.
Tax controversy
Allen is known to tax law students as being the petitioner in the famous case Allen v. Commissioner, 50 T.C. 466 (1968). After receiving a US$70,000 bonus from the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, he gave US$40,000 to his mother. Even though he attempted to avoid paying income tax on the $40,000, the court held he was both responsible for the taxes and not able to make a trade or business deduction for the amount.
Quick stops in St. Louis and L.A.
Allen finally had enough, and demanded the Phillies trade him. They sent him to the Cardinals in a trade before the season. Even this deal caused controversy, though not of Allen's making, since Cardinals outfielder Curt FloodCurt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
refused to report to the Phillies as part of the trade. (Flood then sued baseball in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the reserve clause
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
and to be declared a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.) Ironically, the player the Phillies received as compensation for Flood not reporting, Willie Montanez
Willie Montañez
Guillermo Montañez Naranjo is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Even though he was productive, Montañez often carried the label "hot dog" for the whimsical manner in which he approached the game. After hitting home runs, he would trot very slowly around the bases, shuffling his feet on...
, hit 30-home runs as a 1971 rookie to eclipse Dick Allen's Phillies rookie home run record of 29, set in 1964.
Allen earned another All-Star berth in St. Louis, and his personal problems seemed to abate. The Cardinals even acceded to his wishes regarding his name, as Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
made a point from game one of calling him Dick Allen.
Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst
Red Schoendienst
Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst is an American Major League Baseball coach, former player and manager, and 10-time All-star. After a 19-year playing career with the St...
recalled that when he was asked, before Allen's acquisition, if he wanted Allen, he had said "no" because he'd heard Allen had a bad attitude, and the team didn't need him. After the season, when Schoendienst was asked if Allen should be traded, he said "no", since Allen had helped the team and his attitude was not a problem.
Decades before Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
, Dick Allen entertained the St. Louis fans with some long home runs, at least one of them landing in the seats above the club level in left field. As Jack Buck said at the time, "Some of the folks in the stadium club might have choked on a chicken leg when they saw that one coming!" Nevertheless the Cardinals traded Allen to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
before the 1971 season.
Chicago
After a relatively quiet year with the Dodgers1971 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The Los Angeles Dodgers finished the season in second place in the National League West.- Offseason :* October 5, 1970: Ted Sizemore and Bob Stinson were traded by the Dodgers to the St...
, Allen was traded to the White Sox
1972 Chicago White Sox season
The 1972 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 73rd season overall, and 72nd in the American League. They finished with a record 87-67, good enough for second place in the American League West, 5½ games behind the first-place Oakland Athletics....
for Tommy John
Tommy John
Thomas Edward John Jr. is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career victories rank as the seventh highest total among left-handers in major league history...
prior to the season. For various reasons, Allen's previous managers had shuffled him around on defense, playing him at first base, third base, and the outfield in no particular order—a practice which almost certainly weakened his defensive play, and which may have contributed to his frequent injuries, not to mention his perceived bad attitude. Sox manager Chuck Tanner
Chuck Tanner
Charles William "Chuck" Tanner was a left fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was known for his unwavering confidence and infectious optimism. He managed the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series championship in 1979...
's low-key style of handling ballplayers made it possible for Allen to thrive, for a while, on the South Side. He decided to play Allen exclusively at first base, which allowed him to concentrate on hitting. That first year, his first in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
, Allen almost single-handedly lifted the entire team to second place in the AL West, as he led the league in home runs (37) (setting a team record), RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
(113), walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
(99), on base percentage (.422), slugging average (.603), and OPS (1.023), while winning a well-deserved MVP award. However, the Sox fell short at the end and finished 5½ games behind the World Series–bound Oakland Athletics
1972 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning the American League West with a record of 93 wins and 62 losses. In the playoffs, they defeated the Detroit Tigers in a five-game ALCS, followed by a seven-game World Series, in which they defeated the Cincinnati Reds for their first World...
.
Allen's feats during his years with the White Sox—particularly in that MVP season of 1972—are spoken of reverently by South Side fans who credit him with saving the franchise for Chicago (it was rumored to be bound for St.Petersburg or Seattle at the time). His powerful swing sent home runs deep into some of cavernous old Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
's farthest reaches, including the roof and even the distant (445 ft) center field bleachers, a rare feat at one of baseball's most pitcher-friendly stadiums. On July 31, 1972, against the Minnesota Twins
1972 Minnesota Twins season
The Minnesota Twins finished 77-77, third in the American League West.- Offseason :* October 22, 1971: Paul Powell was traded by the Twins to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bobby Darwin....
, Allen became the first player in baseball's "modern era" to hit two inside-the-park home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in one game in an 8–1 victory. Both homers were hit off Bert Blyleven
Bert Blyleven
Bert Blyleven is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from to , and was best known for his curveball. Blyleven was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011...
at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium. On July 6, 1974, at Detroit
1974 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers compiled a record of 72-90. They finished in last place in the American League East, 19 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. They were outscored by their opponents 768 to 620.- Offseason :...
's Tiger Stadium, he lined a homer off the roof facade in deep left-center field at a linear distance of approximately 415 feet (126.5 m) and an altitude of 85 feet (25.9 m). Anecdotal and mathematical evidence agreed that Allen's clout would've easily surpassed 500 ft (152.4 m) on the fly.
The Sox were favored by many to make the playoffs in 1973
1973 Chicago White Sox season
The 1973 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 73rd season in the major leagues, and its 74th season overall. They finished with a record 77-85, good enough for fifth place in the American League West, 17 games behind the first-place Oakland Athletics....
, but those hopes were dashed due in large measure to the fractured fibula that Allen suffered in June. (He tried to return five weeks after injuring the leg in a collision with Mike Epstein
Mike Epstein
Michael Peter Epstein , nicknamed SuperJew, is a former Major League Baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and California Angels from –....
of the A's
1973 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning their third consecutive American League West title with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses...
, but the pain ended his season after just one game in which he batted 3-for-5.) Despite his making the All-Star team in each of three years with the team, Allen's stay in Chicago ended in controversy when he left the team on September 14 with two weeks left in the 1974 season
1974 Chicago White Sox season
The 1974 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 74th season in the major leagues, and its 75th season overall. They finished with a record 80-80, good enough for fourth place in the American League West, 9 games behind the first-place Oakland Athletics....
. In Crash, his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
(co-written with Tim Whitaker), Allen blamed his feud with third-baseman Ron Santo
Ron Santo
Ronald Edward Santo was an American professional baseball player and long-time radio sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974, most notably as the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. A nine-time All-Star, he was a powerful hitter who was also a good defensive...
, who was playing a final, undistinguished season with the White Sox after leaving the crosstown Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
.
With Allen's intention to continue playing baseball uncertain, the Sox reluctantly sold his contract to the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
for only $5,000, despite the fact that he had led the league in home runs, slugging (.563), and OPS (.938). Allen refused to report to the Braves and announced his retirement.
Final playing years
The Phillies managed to coax Allen out of retirement for the 1975 season1975 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies season was the 93rd in the history of the franchise. The Phillies finished in second place in the National League East with a record of 86-76, 6½ games behind the NL East champion Pittsburgh Pirates.- Offseason :...
. The lay-off and nagging effects of his 1973 broken leg hampered his play. His numbers improved in 1976
1976 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies season was the 94th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies won their first National League East title, as they compiled a record of 101-61, nine games ahead of the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates....
, a Phillies division winner, although he only played in 85 games. He continued his tape measure legacy during his second go-round with the Phillies. On August 22, 1975, Allen smashed a homer into the seldom reached upperdeck at San Diego's
1975 San Diego Padres season
The 1975 San Diego Padres season was the 7th in franchise history. It was the first season in which the Padres did not finish in the National League West cellar , and brought the promise of an owner who would make the necessary changes to the organization.- Offseason :* October 3, 1974: Horace...
Qualcomm (née Jack Murphy) Stadium.
He played his final season with the Oakland Athletics
1977 Oakland Athletics season
The 1977 Oakland Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team finished 7th in the American League West with a record of 63 wins and 98 losses...
in 1977.
Retirement years
After retirement, Allen had a string of bad fortune, with his uninsured house and horse stables burning down in October 1979. He subsequently left his wife for a younger woman; his wife took him to court and got everything he had left, even the rights to his baseball pensionPension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
. He has written (with Tim Whitaker) an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
titled Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen, which Bill James
Bill James
George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...
has called "one of the best baseball books in recent years". For many years Allen held the distinction of the highest slugging percentage among players eligible for but not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This only ended in 2006, when Albert Belle
Albert Belle
Albert Jojuan Belle is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles...
became eligible but was not elected. Whether Allen is worthy of the Hall of Fame has been hotly debated, with many people arguing he is the best player not in the Hall.http://www.expressfan.com/dickallenhof/ The arguments usually center around his very high career averages, batting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
(.292), slugging (.534), and on-base (.378). They also point out that he began his career during the mid-1960s, a period so dominated by pitchers that it is sometimes called the "second dead ball era". Allen also played some of his career in pitcher-friendly parks such as Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
, Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
, and Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
. http://www.h-net.org/~hns/articles/2005/080805a.html
Detractors of his Hall of Fame credentials argue that his career was not as long as most Hall of Famers, so he does not have the career cumulative numbers that others do. They also argue that his poor defense and bad clubhouse presence took away from his teams much of what his bat gave them.http://www.baseballcrank.com/archives2/2002/05/baseball_cansec.php But according to the two managers for whom Allen played the longest – Gene Mauch
Gene Mauch
Gene William Mauch was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago Cubs , Boston Braves , St...
of the Phillies and Chuck Tanner
Chuck Tanner
Charles William "Chuck" Tanner was a left fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was known for his unwavering confidence and infectious optimism. He managed the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series championship in 1979...
of the White Sox – he was not a "clubhouse lawyer" who harmed team chemistry. Asked if Allen's behavior ever had a negative influence on the team, Mauch said: "Never." According to Tanner, "Dick was the leader of our team, the captain, the manager on the field. He took care of the young kids, took them under his wing. And he played every game as if it was his last day on earth."http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/index.php?category=11&id=2065
2008 Hall of Fame inductee Rich Gossage
Rich Gossage
Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1972-1994 for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. The nickname "Goose" is a play on his surname...
confirmed Tanner's view during ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's interview show with Gossage and Dick Williams
Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
. Gossage talked about how Dick Allen had worked with him to learn more about the league's hitters, to help make him a more effective pitcher. Also in 2008, another of Allen's ex-White Sox teammates, pitcher Stan Bahnsen
Stan Bahnsen
Stanley Raymond Bahnsen is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed the "Bahnsen Burner," he once made 118 starts over a three year stretch while playing with the Chicago White Sox in the mid 1970s.-New York Yankees:...
, said, "I actually thought that Dick was better than his stats. Every time we needed a clutch hit, he got it. He got along great with his teammates and he was very knowledgeable about the game. He was the ultimate team guy." http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/index.php?category=11&id=3729 Another Hall of Fame teammate, Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Michael Jack Schmidt is a Hall of Fame third baseman popularly considered among the greatest third basemen in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies....
, credited Dick Allen in his book, "Clearing the Bases," as his mentor. In a Mike Schmidt biography written by historian William C. Kashatus, Mike Schmidt fondly recalls Dick Allen mentoring him before a game in Chicago in 1976, saying to him, "Mike, you've got to relax. You've got to have some fun. Remember when you were just a kid and you'd skip supper to play ball? You were having fun. Hey, with all the talent you've got, baseball ought to be fun. Enjoy it. Be a kid again." Mike Schmidt responded by hitting four home runs in that game. Mike Schmidt is quoted in the same book, "The baseball writers used to claim that Dick would divide the clubhouse along racial lines. That was a lie. The truth is that Dick never divided any clubhouse."
Quotations
- "Now I know why they boo Richie all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenirSouvenirA souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...
." – Willie StargellWillie StargellWilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell , nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
, after Allen once hit a home run over the left-center field roof of Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium. (Baseball Digest, January 1975, p. 36) - "Allen was scary at the plate. When he came up there, he had your attention. I want to forget a couple of line drives he hit off me, but I can’t because they almost killed me." – Mickey LolichMickey LolichMichael Stephen Lolich is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1962 until 1979 who played the majority of his career with the Detroit Tigers.-Baseball career:...
- "If a horse won't eat it, I don't want to play on it." – His own quote on artificial turfArtificial turfArtificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
. - "I never worry about it. I just take my three swings and go sit on the bench. I'm afraid if I ever think about hitting it, I'll mess up my swing for life." – His quote on hitting the knuckleballKnuckleballA knuckleball is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction—and even...
- "Bob GibsonBob GibsonRobert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
was so mean he would knock you down and then meet you at home plate to see if you wanted to make something of it." - "I can play anywhere; First, Third, Left field, anywhere but Philadelphia."
See also
- Chicagoland Sports Hall of FameChicagoland Sports Hall of FameThe Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Hawthorne Race Course, in Stickney/Cicero, near Chicago, Illinois, honors sports greats associated with the greater Chicago area. It was founded in 1979 as a trailer owned by the Olympia Brewing Company parked at Soldier Field in Chicago. The...
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions
External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Allen's Bat Stood Out in a Pitching-Dominant Era
- Baseball Evolution Hall of Fame- Player Profile
- Fang's Bites: SEVEN-TIME ALL-STAR & 1972 AL MVP DICK ALLEN DISCUSSES HIS CONTROVERSIAL MLB CAREER on MLB NETWORK’S STUDIO 42 WITH BOB COSTAS on tuesday, DECEMBER 15