Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner on their election to the Baseball Hall of Fame! They will be joining Dick Allen and Dave Parker, who were selected to the Hall of Fame by the Classic Era Committee in December 2024. The Induction Ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 27, 2025.
I am well behind on this one. Dick Allen passed away this past Monday, December 7, 2020 at the age of 78.
Richard Anthony Allen was born March 8, 1942 in Wampum, Pennsylvania. During his fifteen-season Major League Baseball career, he appeared primarily as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. Allen was named to the All-Star team seven times. He won the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year Award and the 1972 AL Most Valuable Player Award. He also led the AL in home runs for two seasons, led the NL in slugging percentage one season and the AL in two seasons, and led each major league in on-base percentage, one season each. He finished his career with a .292 batting average and a .534 slugging percentage.
The Philadelphia Phillies retired Dick Allen’s number 15 on September 3, 2020. He was also inducted into the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals in 2004.
Rest in peace.
If a horse can’t eat it, I don’t want to play on it.
~Dick Allen, on artificial turf, 1970
