Dick Allen - Passed Away
 

Incredible talent. I guess he was not that well liked... but I think it's a little sad that he did not get the recognition he deserved while he was alive.
RIP.

Always struck me as a working class ball player and under appreciated, RIP.

Love him or hate him, Dick Allen was absolutely feared as a hitter in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Of course he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame — all you have to do is look at his his career OPS of .912, and compare it to contemporaries like Roberto Clemente, Ernie Banks and Carl Yastrzemski. He was simply a better hitter — the numbers don't lie. Also compare his numbers to another Southsider in Cooperstown, Harold Baines. The supposed knock on Allen, that he was a miserable person, came from the media, which can be terribly biased and unfair (I'm a newspaper reporter). For a better assessment of his character, I'll go with the opinions of his primary managers, Gene Mauch and Chuck Tanner, who each said he was a good teammate. Rest in peace.

Was fortunate enough to shake his hand at a card show in the 90's. He was a true gentleman and he was dressed to the nine's as they say.
He did it his way for sure. But he could sure hurt a baseball! RIP #15.

1972 mvp
 

I lived in Chicago when he won MVP with the White Sox. It seemed like he hit a three run home run in the first inning of every game that year. It was an amazing year. One of the greatest years by a player that I ever saw.

Some teammates couldn’t stand him, the original Frank Thomas and Ron Santo, but other teammates thought the world of him, Rich Gossage and Mike Schmidt.

I had the pleasure of watching him, no one hit the ball harder

RIP. He'll be inducted soon, I predict. Wish that would have happened while he could enjoy it. Totally deserving!

I watched him destroy the Mets in the 60’s and remember his magical year of 1972 but I don’t think he belongs in the Hall. His stats are borderline but he never made the playoffs until the end of his career but what clinched it for me was that in an era when stars barely got traded he went from Phils to Cards to Dodgers the to Sox Braves Phils and A’s which was unheard of for a Star.

RIP.

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Interesting, his lifetime adjusted OPS+ of 156 is 19th All-Time. Tied with Willie Mays and the newer Frank Thomas.

If he wasn't such a defensive liability, had a couple more injury free years, or was slightly more likable.........he might already be in.

He was one of those guys, whose baseball card I was fascinated with as a kid, because his stats on the back were so gaudy..........yet none of my friends knew who the hell he was.

He's one of those guys who looks great if you look at certain stats and not so great if you look at others. I think you could justify it either way. When is he next up for consideration?

"Crash"
 

. . . was the title of his autobio in '89. It's a great read which you can likely run down on Amazon. It gives light to all the awful racist s**t he had to deal with from troglodyte team mates and fans, starting when he was the only black player on the Arkansas Travelers in '63 and continuing when he went up to Philly. Instead of letting it define him, he overcame it and became a helluva player. If not for one misguided idiot voter, would now be at Cooperstown. Sadly, like Santo, it will come, but now, only after he's 6' down.

His first ML homer... one of three hit in the 5th inning by the Phillies. Pitcher Art Mahaffey had hit the last HR of his career 3 batters earlier.

Early next year.

The other side
 

It sounds as if many believe that Dick Allen was worthy of admittance to the Hall of Fame, and should already have been so honored. If you’d like to read the opposing view, I recommend chapter 26 in Bill James’s book “Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?””

This sucks. I think he is right on the cusp of getting into the HOF via the senior vote, and now he won't be around to enjoy it. This seems to happen way to often. RIP.

One of the best SI covers ever.

When I was sorting my '71 highs recently, it was a nice bonus to see how the Dick Allen was maybe the nicest card from that set that I've ever had.

RIP to an amazing hitter

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I always get a chuckle out of that one because of the photog's knee and shin getting in the way.