Former White Sox first baseman Dick Allen has died at the age of 78.
Allen had a 15-season career in the major leagues, and was with the Sox from 1972-74. He was a seven-time All-Star and won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1964 with the Phillies. He won the AL MVP in 1972 while with the Sox, helping the Sox stay in the AL West pennant race for most of the season and helping rejuvenate a franchise that had been suffering at the gate. He led the American League in homers twice, hitting 37 in 1972 and 32 in 1974. His 1972 performance set a then-team record.
Allen made the All-Star team in each of his three seasons on the South Side.
The Phillies announced his death on Monday.
Allen’s No. 15 was retired by the Phillies in September, an honor that was considered long overdue by many for one of the franchise’s greatest players who fought against racism during a tumultuous period with the team in the 1960s.
“The Phillies are heartbroken over the passing today of our dear friend and co-worker, Dick Allen,” the team said.
“Dick will be remembered as not just one of the greatest and most popular players in our franchise’s history, but also as a courageous warrior who had to overcome far too many obstacles to reach the level he did. Dick’s iconic status will resonate for generations of baseball fans to come as one of the all-time greats to play America’s pastime,” the Phillies said. Sox broadcaster Steve Stone, who played with Allen on the Sox in 1973, spent many nights with Allen and Rich Gossage talking about baseball and other topics until 2 or 3 a.m.
“I found him to be a really nice guy, a really engaging guy. I thought the world of the man, and he was a phenomenal player,” Stone said.
“I honestly felt that he could have done anything he wanted to do. If he really took it seriously, he was a first ballot no-doubt Hall of Famer but I don’t think he took it as seriously as he probably could have. But what a player.”
Stone recalled a time when Allen, who had lost some feeling in his right hand due to a severe wrist injury suffered while pushing a car up a hill during a storm, once failed to make a throw that cost Stone a couple of runs.
“He comes up to me in the dugout, points at me and says ‘Look, I’ll get ‘em back for you,’ ‘‘ Stone said Monday. “He comes up in the seventh inning, runner on and two outs and with the wind blowing a gale in over the right field fence hits a line drive rocket over the wall into the teeth of the wind. I think that thing never got more than 20 feet high and the ball exploded out of the ballpark. He tied the game, walks by me in the dugout and just winks at me.”
RIP Dick Allen pic.twitter.com/4QUEMMycQ6
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) December 7, 2020
Stone also recalled a Comiskey Park roof shot of Allen’s against Orioles All-Star left-hander Mike Cuellar.
“ ‘He starts me out with a slow curveball every time,’ “ Allen told Stone before the game. “ ‘If he starts me out with a slow curve tonight I’m going to hit it over the roof. Son of a [gun], he throws it and Dick hits it over the roof, like the 11th ball in history hit over the roof. He literally called the shot.”
Phillies managing partner John Middleton broke from the team’s longstanding “unwritten” policy of only retiring the number of players who are in the Hall of Fame to honor Allen.
“I thank the city of Philadelphia. Even though it was rough, I’ve made some friends along the way,” Allen said in an emotional ceremony on a warm, sunny afternoon.
Mike Schmidt, a Hall of Fame third baseman who helped lure Allen out of retirement to return to Philadelphia for a second stint with the team in 1975, was among the former players who attended the ceremony. They wore masks and sat several feet apart during the coronavirus pandemic that shortened the major league season to 60 games. The Phillies planned to honor Allen again in 2021 with fans in attendance.
Schmidt called Allen “an amazing mentor” who was wrongly labeled a “bad teammate” and “troublemaker.”
“Dick was a sensitive Black man who refused to be treated as a second-class citizen,” Schmidt said in a speech. “He played in front of home fans that were products of that racist era (with) racist teammates and different rules for whites and Blacks. Fans threw stuff at him and thus Dick wore a batting helmet throughout the whole game. They yelled degrading racial slurs. They dumped trash in his front yard at his home. In general, he was tormented and it came from all directions. And Dick rebelled.”
Schmidt pointed out Allen didn’t have a negative reputation playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and White Sox. He also campaigned for Allen’s induction into the Hall of Fame.
“My friends, these (negative) labels have kept Dick Allen out of the Hall of Fame,” Schmidt said. “Imagine what Dick could’ve accomplished as a player in another era, on another team, left alone to hone his skills, to be confident, to come to the ballpark every day and just play baseball.”
Allen was Middleton’s favorite player as a kid. He called the abuse Allen received “horrific” and pointed out his accomplishments are even greater considering the racism he endured.
Allen batted .292 with 351 homers, 1,119 RBIs and .912 OPS in 15 seasons. He played first base, third base and left field.
After seven seasons in Philadelphia, where he rose to prominence by hammering balls over the Coca-Cola sign and out of Connie Mack Stadium in batting practice, Allen played a season with the Cardinals and Dodgers.
After his stint with the Sox, he finished his 15-year career with Oakland in 1977.
Allen had the fifth-most home runs (319) over an 11-year span (1964-74) behind four Hall of Famers: Hank Aaron (391), Harmon Killebrew (336), Willie Stargell (335) and Willie McCovey (327). His .940 OPS during that time was second to Aaron’s .941.
Allen wasn’t elected into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America and he fell one vote short in Golden Era Committee voting in 2014. The Golden Days Committee and the Early Days Committee did not vote this year because of COVID-19 and instead will meet during the winter of 2021.
“He is now reunited with his beloved daughter, Terri. The Phillies extend their condolences to Dick’s widow, Willa, his family, friends and all his fans from coast to coast,” the Phillies said.
