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Dick Allen’s Hall of Fame election a reward for family, friends who continued to believe

Dick Allen is a Hall of Famer. (IconSportswire)

While he was better known for his show-stopping power and prowess in a batter’s box, Dick Allen’s talent as a singer was no secret. During his playing career with the Phillies, Allen performed with a doo-wop group called the Ebonistics. They released a single called “Echo’s of November” in 1968 and did shows in Philadelphia. Music was a major factor in the former slugger’s life.

So it was only fitting for Richard Allen Jr. to notice one of his late father’s favorite songs playing as he anxiously awaited the results of the latest election for the Baseball Hall of Fame. “Zoom” is the fourth track from the Commodores’ self-titled, chart-topping 1977 album, and the elder Allen loved to sing it in his tenor voice. When Allen Jr. heard those familiar words from Lionel Richie — “I’d like to fly far away from here” — over the hotel speakers at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, he couldn’t help but feel his father’s presence.

“I went, ‘Oh, wow. I feel like he’s saying something,'” Allen Jr. said. “That was his song. … That came on and I had to regroup, get myself together again. And I said, ‘I think that’s the sign.'”

Allen Jr. and a close-knit group gathered in a meeting room for a watch party on Sunday evening at the hotel, one floor above the lobby where figures across baseball have started to convene for the annual Winter Meetings. Allen, the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year and the 1972 American League MVP, was up for election to the Hall of Fame for the third time since 2014; he missed by a single vote in 2014 and again in 2021.

The song played at the watch party around 5 p.m. Central. At 6:30 p.m., the Hall of Fame revealed its vote. Dick Allen, who died in 2020, was elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee along with former Pirates outfielder Dave Parker. The two will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27, 2025, in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The announcement was music to Allen’s friends and family’s ears.

“It was obviously a sigh of relief,” Allen Jr. told Phillies Nation by phone on Monday, “but more like a boiling pot. … It was just like a pot boiling over. Finally, I can stop talking about it. And he gets his due.”

Richard Allen Jr. speaking to reporters. (Photo courtesy of Dr. David Fletcher)

Allen played 15 seasons from 1963 to 1977 with the Phillies, White Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers and Athletics. He burst on the scene with one of the greatest rookie seasons in 1964, establishing himself as one of the most dangerous and productive hitters of his era. Allen had a 165 OPS+ from 1964 to 1974, the best mark of all qualified hitters during that stretch, and his career 156 OPS+ ranks 25th in major-league history.

Still, he struggled on the Hall of Fame ballot for years, maxing out at 18.9% of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote in 14 tries. Labels from his playing career seemed to follow him and hurt his chances. The first Black superstar in Philadelphia, Allen was characterized as a bad teammate and a clubhouse cancer in his first stint with the Phillies. Fans taunted him with racial slurs and hurled batteries and other objects at him, forcing him to start wearing a batting helmet in the field at first base. Allen dominated through all the adversity.

Although Allen himself never advocated for induction into the Hall of Fame, Allen Jr. and others close to him spent years campaigning for Allen to make it to Cooperstown. Mark “Frog” Carfagno, a former Phillies groundskeeper who befriended Allen, managed the effort with contributions from others such as Dr. David Fletcher, a Chicago-area occupational medicine specialist and the co-author of “Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The 1972 White Sox and A Transforming Chicago.” The group has worked to bring attention to Allen’s statistical case, show the difficulties he faced and highlight his positive impact on the sport.

Allen Jr., Carfagno and Fletcher were all present for the disappointments in 2014 and 2021 as Allen narrowly missed election. There was a better vibe leading up to this announcement as Allen Jr. and Fletcher — along with an intimate group including Allen Jr.’s son, Richard III, his partner, Heather, and his cousin, Ric — assembled in front of members of the Chicago and Philadelphia media to watch, with Carfagno joining on speaker phone from his Southwest Philly home. “There was a different energy,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher had done some political-style lobbying in the days leading up to the vote. Candidates needed 12 of 16 votes from the committee to be elected. Fletcher told Allen Jr. he was confident that Allen had 13 votes secured, and he was right on the money. Allen received 13 votes and Parker received 14 to become the only two candidates to be voted in from the eight-person ballot.

“Even though it had been a long time coming, No. 15 finally got the acknowledgement he deserved,” Fletcher said. “… I’ve been working on this project for 20 years. It was just a culmination of things for people who believed.”

The door to the Hall of Fame announcement watch party. (Photo courtesy of Dr. David Fletcher)

Allen Jr. and the group celebrated at the hotel with plenty of Heineken — Allen’s choice of beer that he called “green ones.” They received calls and messages from people all across baseball. Phillies owner John Middleton, who decided to retire Allen’s jersey number in 2020, gave an emotional congratulations. Hall of Famers Goose Gossage and Jim Kaat called as well.

Although Allen was not alive to hear the news of his election, Allen Jr. believes his father would’ve accepted the honor humbly. Allen preferred to let his play talk for itself and offer praise for other players instead. “But I’m sure he’d take it,” Allen Jr. said with a laugh.

The path was certainly not direct, but Allen, one of baseball’s legends with a fascinating career and life, was recognized by the Hall of Fame at last. On the outside looking in for years, Allen is now a member of the Class of 2025.

“He was a complex human being that had a lot of impact on people,” Fletcher said. “And it’ll be very emotional in Cooperstown in July.”