Jenkins shares memories of Allen ahead of ex-slugger’s Hall of Fame induction

May 20, 2025 

By Kevin Glew 

Cooperstowners in Canada 

If Fergie Jenkins had his way, Dick Allen would’ve been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame while the slugger was still alive. 

Over the years, Jenkins has been a member of several Hall Veterans Committees, and on each one of them, he campaigned for Allen, who was finally elected in December – four years after his death. 

“He was just an all-round great athlete,” said Jenkins in a recent phone interview. “Not only did he have power, but as a pitcher, if you fell asleep, he’d steal second and third on you . . . He should’ve been in the Hall of Fame years and years ago.” 

Jenkins’ endorsement comes not only from a former teammate and roommate, but from a pitcher who faced Allen 76 times. 

“He was a powerful hitter, so I knew I couldn’t afford to make a mistake when he was up there,” said Jenkins with a chuckle. 

During his 15-season major league career, Allen batted .292 and posted a .378 on-base percentage (OBP) and a .912 OPS. The seven-time All-Star and 1972 American League MVP also belted 351 home runs, registered 10 or more triples in a season four times and had 133 stolen bases. 

Jenkins ranks Allen as the fourth best right-handed hitter he ever faced behind only Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. 

“For power and average, Dick Allen was one of the best,” said Jenkins. “He ran the bases like Lou Brock, really quick. He had a very quick bat and he had the power of Mays, Clemente and Aaron.” 

Born in Pennsylvania

Born on March 8, 1942, Allen was raised in Wampum, Pa. He grew up in a family of athletes. His older brothers, Hank and Ronnie, also played in the big leagues. 

In high school, Allen was a multisport athlete who also starred as a guard on the basketball team. 

He grew up idolizing Jackie Robinson and cheering for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and his two older brothers helped transform him into a power-hitting infielder. He was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as a shortstop in 1960. 

Allen then began his ascent through the Phillies’ minor league ranks. He was converted into an outfielder in 1962 and after an outstanding season with class-A Williamsport, he was sent to their triple-A affiliate in Little Rock, Ark., the ensuing year. 

Racism in Little Rock

Hailing from Pennsylvania, Allen had never experienced the racism he faced in Little Rock and the team did little to prepare him for it. He was the team’s first Black position player (Jenkins joined him for four games that season). 

“The Civil Rights act hadn’t been passed yet,” said Jenkins, reflecting on his time in Little Rock with Allen in 1963, “and segregation was popular still. They didn’t want us on the ball club, but the Phillies sent us there to play, so we had to play.” 

Jenkins says Allen, as the only regular Black position player on the club, bore the brunt of the taunts. 

“Playing in an everyday situation, Dick had to produce, which he did,” Jenkins said. “I think he turned the feelings around of the fans because at the beginning, they didn’t want us. They had banners up at the airport, saying they didn’t want players of colour there. They said, ‘The city doesn’t need that!’ And things like that. But with his performances, he became a favourite with the fans.” 

Allen finished with a .289 batting average and 33 home runs and was named team MVP. His performance earned him his first big league call-up that September where he batted .292 in 10 games. 

Sensational MLB rookie season

The following spring, Allen cracked the Phillies’ roster as a third baseman – a position he had never played regularly. 

“They needed his bat in the lineup, so they had to find a position for him,” recalled Jenkins. 

Allen made 41 errors at the hot corner, but he more than made up for it at the plate. He put together one of the greatest offensive rookie seasons in major league history, finishing with a .318/.382/.557 slash line and a .939 OPS. He also clubbed 29 home runs and led the National League in runs (125), triples (13) and total bases (352). 

Thanks largely to his efforts, the Phillies were cruising to a National League pennant that season before they collapsed down the stretch and were overtaken by the St. Louis Cardinals. Allen batted over .400 in the final two weeks of the season, so he couldn’t be blamed for the Phillies’ choke job. 

After that season, Allen refused to sign the contract that was mailed to him for 1965. That resulted in him holding out in the spring, a tactic that was almost unheard of for a second-year player. The two sides eventually agreed to a one-year, $20,000 contract.  

Rebellious streak

On July 3, 1965, Allen got into a fight with teammate Frank Thomas during batting practice. And though Thomas was the instigator and was released by the Phillies, many of the club’s fans started booing Allen. 

But that didn’t stop him from being the team’s most productive hitter. He finished that season with a .302 batting average with 20 home runs and 14 triples. He followed that up by smacking 40 homers in 1966 and topping the National League with a .404 OBP in 1967. 

There was no question, however, that the Phillies slugger had a rebellious streak. He was never much for rules or batting practice and his tardiness became an issue with the club. On May 1, 1969, he missed two flights and was fined by the team. The next month he missed another game and was suspended indefinitely. He would be away from the club for 26 days. 

“When Dick came to spring training, he’d say he needed a week-and-a-half to take batting practice and he was ready to play,” recalled Jenkins, who was close with Allen and thought he was misunderstood. “Then a lot of time during the season he didn’t take batting practice. He said he didn’t need it. But he was always on the field (during BP), fielding at third or fielding at first.” 

During the 1969 campaign, Allen’s relationship with the Phillies fans had deteriorated to the point that he wore a batting helmet when playing first base at home games to protect himself from projectiles (including batteries and ice) being hurled at him. But Allen also didn’t deescalate the situation when he began scrawling messages to the fans in the infield dirt. 

Dealt to Cardinals

On October 7, 1969, the Phillies traded Allen to the St. Louis Cardinals. With the Cards, he hit .279 with 34 home runs and 101 RBIs in 1970 prior to being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He enjoyed another productive campaign with the Dodgers (.295 with 23 homers) before being dealt again – this time to the Chicago White Sox. 

In his first season with the White Sox, he batted .308 and topped the American League in OBP (.420), slugging percentage (.603) and OPS (1.023). He also led the AL in home runs (37), RBIs (113), walks (99) and WAR (8.6) and was voted the league’s MVP. 

Unfortunately, the following season, he suffered a hairline fracture of a bone in his leg which limited him to 72 games. He bounced back, however, in 1974 to lead the AL with 32 home runs.  

That December, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves, but he refused to report. Six months later, the Braves dealt him back to the Phillies, but by that time, the 32-year-old Allen had lost most of the pop in his bat. 

He hit just .233 with 12 home runs in 119 games for the Phils in 1975 before improving to .268 with 15 homers in 85 contests in 1976. That fall, he played in the postseason for the first time, going 2-for-9 in the National League Championship Series against the eventual World Series-winning Cincinnati Reds. 

In March1977, Allen signed with the Oakland A’s. He’d bat .240 in 54 contests with them before being released. That was his final tenure in the big leagues. 

Little support from baseball writers in Hall voting

Despite his strong career numbers, Allen never received more than 18.9 per cent support from the baseball writers in the National Baseball Hall of Fame voting. 

In retirement, he stayed away from baseball until he was hired as a spring training batting coach by the Texas Rangers in 1982. He later had a similar role with the Phillies who added him to their Wall of Fame in 1994. Twenty-six years later, his No. 15 was retired by the club. Allen would die just three months after the ceremony. 

On April 25 of this year, Jenkins and Allen’s son, Richard, threw out the first pitch prior to an Arkansas Travellers’ game in Little Rock, Ark. 

A week later, Jenkins accompanied Allen’s family to Chicago for Dick Allen bobblehead day at Rate Field. The Canadian baseball legend has enjoyed getting to know Allen’s family and he is looking forward to his former teammate’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July. 

“I’ll be there at Cooperstown, definitely,” said Jenkins.  

Dick Allen’s Canadian connections 

-The only Canadian teammates Allen had during his career were Jenkins (with Little Rock in 1963 and the Phillies in 1965) and Reggie Cleveland (Swift Current, Sask., St. Louis Cardinals in 1970). 

-If any pitcher owned Allen, it was Jenkins. Allen was only 12-for-75 (.160 batting average) with 21 strikeouts against Jenkins during his career. “Being teammates, I pretty much knew what he liked to hit,” explained Jenkins. “He liked the ball out over the plate because he was a power hitter and his power was to left-centre and right-centre. He didn’t pull the ball that much but he could spray it from left centre over to right field because he swung that heavy bat. He swung a 40-ounce bat, so if he didn’t catch up to a pitch, he’d basically hit it very deep to right field . . . We were like brothers . . . I’d watch him take batting practice and the way he stood in the batter’s box. I knew what he liked to hit.” 

-By my count, Allen faced five other Canadian pitchers during his career: Cleveland (4-for-21, .190 batting average, one home run), Mike Kilkenny (Bradford, Ont., 0-for-2 with two walks), Dave Pagan (Nipawin, Sask., 1-for-5, two strikeouts), Claude Raymond (St. Jean, Que., 7-for-20, .350 batting average, seven strikeouts) and Ron Taylor (Toronto, Ont., 5-for-23, .217 batting average, two walks). 

-With the Cardinals on Opening Day against the Montreal Expos at Jarry Park in 1970, Allen went 3-for-5 with a home run and two doubles and drove in three. The Cards beat the Expos 7-2. 

-Allen played just one series against the Toronto Blue Jays while he was with the A’s in 1977. He went 0-for-5 with four walks in two games at Exhibition Stadium on May 23 and May 25 that year.