Do you know which Phillies Hall of Fame player had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, would hit 500 foot moonshots, and got into fist fights with his own teammates? Some might say that this guy sounds like a dick, and you would be right because Dick Allen did all of that and is the topic of discussion today.
Dick Allen started off his career shot out of a cannon. He would win the 1964 Rookie of The Year by a mile, which is about how far he hit the ball. In his rookie season, Allen led the league in triples, runs and extra base hits. He was also on the 1964 Phillies which are known for another all time great season... of choking. That year the Phillies had a 6.5 game lead on the division with 12 games left. All they needed to do was not completely forget how to play baseball and they would be in the World Series. They would lose 10 games in a row and fall to second place and the Cardinals would advance to the World Series in which they would win.
Allen's sophomore year was not as good as his rookie year. That may be because of a fist fight he got into with his teammate Frank Thomas. No, not the 6'5" 240 slugger for the White Sox with 500 home runs, this was some scrawny white guy named Frank Thomas that was racist towards Dick one too many times. Thomas was the instigator in this fight as he was racist towards Allen. Thomas is said to have swung a bat at Dick and hit him with the swing. The Phillies released Frank Thomas immediately, but threatened Dick Allen to not say anything to the media, which at the time was not a good idea. This caused the media to believe everything Frank Thomas said, while Allen never said a word about it. Allen was seen as a trouble maker, and it would be his reputation for the rest of his career.
Some other shenanigans that Allen would find himself in included breaking his hand punching a car headlight, wearing a batting helmet in the field because fans would throw things at him, failing to show up to a double header because he went to see a horse race and got stuck in traffic and even his name was an issue. The media called Dick by his birth name, Richard, which got shortened to Richie. Dick Allen thought that the name Richie was the name of a little boy, not a baseball player.
Allen would demand a trade in 1969 and the Phillies sent him to St. Louis. The Cardinals and Dodgers would be home for Allen before he was traded to the White Sox. His time with the White Sox was action packed as he would win the 1972 MVP award in which he led the league in home runs, RBIs, on base percentage and slugging percentage. Allen is also credited with "saving" the Chicago White Sox as there was a lot of rumors flying around that the owner was going to move the team to Seattle. Dick also hit 2 inside the park home runs in one game in 1973. After his 1972 MVP year, Allen signed a deal with the White Sox to become the highest paid player in baseball with a contract for 3 years $750,000.
In 1973 Allen broke his leg and was out for the year. His play started to diminish when he came back. 1974 would be Allen's last year with the White Sox, but not without a little controversy. Allen would leave the team 2 weeks before the season ended due to a disagreement with teammate Ron Santo. Allen would then join the Phillies for a second stint with the team for the 1975 and '76 seasons. Allen would finish his career with the Oakland A's when he retired with no notice after a double header in June. Guy might just hate double headers.
Dick Allen missed the Hall of Fame in his first time on the ballet as his highest voting percentage over 10 years was only 18.9% and 75% is needed to get in. The Classic Baseball Era Committee voted Allen into the Hall a few months ago in December of 2024. Dick Allen died in 2020 so he will not be able to attend, obviously. Known for his ability to be a great hitter in an era that pitchers dominated and his blues music career. Oh I did not mention that yet?
During his first stint with the Phillies, Dick Allen and The Ebonistics would perform at nightclubs in the Philadelphia area. The height of Dick Allen and The Ebonistics came when they performed a half time show during a 76ers game. When Allen came out he was booed very heavily, and when he was done and walked off stage he was cheered just as hard as he was booed. What a funny life this guy lived. Like and share with a friend, or a fan of Dick, or a fan of the Phillies.
That is the Tea, with T
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