This is one area I disagree with Dick Allen. I would have no problem electing him to the hall of fame. I think he should have been elected. I was sorry to hear about his death as it would have thrilled him to be elected to the hall of fame despite his troubles while playing. I think he and his family would have enjoyed it.
Here’s another thing I didn’t ever understand and can only chalk it down to bigotry in the day and especially with the Phillies. Here is a 22-year-old kid coming to the majors. He is one of your first black players and had to play in the deep south the year before. He’s a sensitive soul. So, to help the team you move him to third base, which he never before played regularly. The kid has a tough time adjusting to the league but almost leads the team to the pennant. He leads the league in runs scored with 125 and also drove in 91. Who do the Phillies and baseball writers push for MVP? Johnny Callison and it was because he had 104 RBIs and probably the color of his skin. Many black players had won the MVP in the National League the previous years, so I think it was more the Phillies didn’t push Allen. I think if the Phillies had one the pennant Johnny Callison would have won the MVP. I think it would have been a lot better for the Phillies in the long run.
Early in his career the Phillies called Allen, Richie Allen not Dick Allen. Allen protested, but this made everyone want to call him Richie more. It was not a good situation for Allen in Philadelphia, yet he survived 7 years the first time without having a bad season.
When Dick Allen had his MVP season with Chicago, when the White Sox were eliminated, he had a comfortable lead in homeruns and RBIs. He was behind Rod Carew in batting. So was teammate Carlos May. Rod Carew who had the lead was coming to town. Allen and May could have played and battled for the triple crown. They chose not to that, saying their season was done when the White Sox were eliminated. Carew played one game in the series and then sat out to hold onto his batting title. An interesting situation, but again Allen was an interesting man.
