Allen's '72 season was unforgettable...
by Scoop80 (2024-12-08 20:48:22)
Edited on 2024-12-08 21:04:08

In reply to: Cooperstown .... "Here's RRRRRRRichie Allen!"  posted by CJC


The A's had Jackson, Fingers & Hunter in their primes, plus the likes of Rudi, Bando & Campaneris. The Sox had Allen, Wood (until his workload caught up w/ him post-Labor Day), May, rookies Gossage & Forster at age 20, and not much else worth noting. The recently deceased Melton was injured most of the year. That Sox team (for whom I kept a scrapbook) hung w/ the dynastic A's until mid-September, and Allen was clearly the biggest reason why.

His '73 season was injury-shortened. He won a 2d HR title in '74, even after quitting in mid-September. It was back to Philly after that. He had a huge ROY seaon for '64 Phils, and he had 3 straight excellent seasons for them after that. He had 6 seasons w/ over 5.0 WAR from 1964-72.

As befitting his love of horses, he had a cameo in the 2005 movie "Dreamer". Sox had a an astroturf IF when he was there. He famously said of turf fields: "If a horse can't eat it, I don't want to play on it."

I wish he had been inducted while he was still alive. It's an honor that was overdue.

EDIT: Tommy John was also on this ballot, but he didn't make it. Sox traded John to Dodgers for Allen in '71-72 offseason.