Tag: Golden Days Era Committee

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Chili Dog MVP Press Box: News & Media

White Sox Talk Podcast: Fergie Jenkins & Carlos May on Dick Allen and the Hall of Fame

Chuck Garfien continues his two-part series on Dick Allen by speaking with Ferguson Jenkins who was on the Golden Days Era committee that left Allen one vote shy of the Hall of Fame. Jenkins had Allen first on his ballot. He speaks with Chuck about the vote and why he believes Allen belongs in the Hall of Fame. Then, Chuck speaks with Allen’s former White Sox teammate Carlos May about what made Allen such a special player, his famous Sports Illustrated cover, the new book about Allen entitled ‘Chilli Dog MVP’, and more.

  • (3:05) – Ferguson Jenkins interview, Dick Allen was the 4th best hitter he ever faced
  • (6:05) – Jenkins on how bad Allen wanted to get into the Hall of Fame
  • (14:11) – Carlos May interview, Dick Allen was larger than life
  • (21:25) – Stories of Dick Allen
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Chili Dog MVP Press Box: News & Media

Hall of Fame heartbreak

Dick Allen, who passed away Dec. 7 of last year at the age of 78, missed being elected to the Hall of Fame by one vote.

Once again. Just like 2014.

“I don’t understand it, I don’t see the justice,’’ [Mark “Frog’’] Carfagno told USA TODAY Sports. “Four of the top five all got an increase in votes but Dick. It’s not fair. He was the best player on the ballot.

“I feel so bad for the family. It doesn’t make any sense. I’m starting to think it’s a conspiracy.’’

Carfagno, 68, who has led Allen’s Hall of Fame campaign since 2014, grew silent. He has spent at least 20 hours a week for the past seven years spreading the word on Allen’s greatness, trying to make sure why everyone understands that Allen should be in the Hall of Fame.

“We used to be so worried whether Dick would be alive when he got into the Hall of Fame,’’ Carfagno says. “Now, I’m worried whether I’ll be alive when it happens.’’

Carfagno plans to take a break for his own health.

“This has beaten me up so much,’’ says Carfagno, who worked on the Phillies’ grounds crew for 33 years when he became close friends with Allen, the seven-time All-Star, MVP and Rookie of the Year winner. “It’s just disappointment after disappointment.

“Even if he’s elected, I don’t think I could even have the strength now to go into that building.

“I don’t even think I can even go to a baseball game again. That’s how much this has taken out of me.’’

Allen won’t be up for another vote until 2026.

Read the full article at USAToday.com…

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Chili Dog MVP Press Box: News & Media

NBC Sports: Dick Allen misses out on Hall of Fame again and it doesn’t seem right

The late, great former Phillies slugger was once again denied election to baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Allen, who died a year ago this week at age 78, came up one vote short on the Golden Days Era ballot, which was announced Sunday night. He also finished one vote short of election in 2014, the last time the Golden Days Era committee assembled.

There seemed to be great momentum for Allen to finally get into Cooperstown this time.

The reality of his rejection stung his supporters.

“I am terribly disappointed,” Phillies managing partner John Middleton said moments after the announcement.

Middleton, along with Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, had long championed Allen’s candidacy for election.

In September 2020, the Phillies retired Allen’s number 15.

“Dick Allen deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” Schmidt said that day.

Read the full article at NBCSports.com…

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Chili Dog MVP Press Box: News & Media

WBBM News Radio 780: Authors write about late White Sox MVP in book, push for his recognition in baseball hall of fame

The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Golden Days Era Committee will meet Sunday to consider long-retired players for election to the Hall of Fame and two Chicago authors have written a new book about a late White Sox slugger whom many say is long overdue for a spot in the museum.

“I will tell you that Dick made it really clear to me that he ever gotten in the Hall of Fame, he wanted to go in as a White Sox,” Dr. David Fletcher said. “Certainly he was a personality. I think that’s probably what we really tried to put in the book- bring him to life.”

Co-author John Owens said the book is not just about the 1972 American League MVP, but a pivotal era on the South Side. “His role in helping to save the franchise, because the White Sox franchise was in trouble – close to moving.”.

Fletcher said Allen helped bring fans back. “Comiskey Park was empty and Dick Allen arrived and it was the place to be. Basically he was Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan.”

Allen is also remembered for an iconic Sports Illustrated cover which showed him juggling baseballs with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth.

“At the end of his life, he hated that cover, because he was caught smoking,” added Owens.

Allen died a year ago of lung cancer and a portion of the proceeds of book sales will help Gilda’s Club Chicago as it provides cancer support for all in the Chicagoland area.

Read the full article at www.Audacy.com/wbbm780/…

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Chili Dog MVP Press Box: News & Media

On Tap Sports Net: Give Him His Due: Dick Allen Belongs in the Hall of Fame

Dick Allen could be enshrined with the immortals of the game via the Golden Days Era Ballot. It’s an honor that is long overdue for the misunderstood slugger that helped to save baseball on the South Side.

Dick Allen was one of baseball’s most feared sluggers during the 1960s and 1970s. Once he became a full-time regular during the 1964 season with the Philadelphia Phillies, he would go on a decade of dominance where he established himself as one of the game’s most terrifying figures in the batter’s box. Allen, who was viewed negatively by his contemporary media members, has an opportunity to assume his rightful place in Cooperstown this weekend, albeit posthumously.

Allen’s larger-than-life persona was one that lent itself to being misunderstood during his day. But as time has passed since his playing days, many came to understand the man better than they did when he was swinging his famed 40-ounce bat. If Allen is to be enshrined in the hall of the immortals in upstate New York, it will be an honor that is long overdue.

Read the full article at OnTapSportsNet.com…

Continue reading “On Tap Sports Net: Give Him His Due: Dick Allen Belongs in the Hall of Fame”
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Chili Dog MVP Press Box: News & Media

Cooperstown Cred: “It’s Time: Elect Dick Allen to the Hall of Fame”

By Chris Bodig

Dick Allen, one of baseball’s greatest hitters from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, is one of the ten candidates on the “Golden Days” Eras Committee ballot. This Sunday [December 5th, 2021], the 16 committee members will consider Allen and the others for a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The Golden Days Committee was supposed to meet on December 6th, 2020, but the vote was postponed for a year due to COVID-19. In a bitter irony, the day after the vote that might have put him into the Hall was supposed to take place, Allen passed away at his home in Wampum, Pennsylvania at the age of 78.

From 1964-74, the right-handed hitting Allen can be credibly called the best of all hitters in all of Major League Baseball. During an era populated by Hall of Fame legends named Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Willie McCovey, Carl Yastrzemski, and Harmon Killebrew, only Hammerin’ Hank combined the disparate skills of reaching base and hitting for power at the level approximating the performance of Allen. When adjusted for ballpark effects, not one other batter had a higher OPS (on-base + slugging percentage) than Richard Anthony Allen.

Allen’s adjusted 165 OPS+ from 1964-74 was the highest in all of baseball. You might think that such an extraordinary peak performance would have already resulted in a plaque in Cooperstown. You would be wrong. Despite this significant accomplishment, Allen never got more than 18.9% of the vote from the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) in 14 tries on the Hall of Fame ballot. The concept of OPS (or its adjusted version, OPS+) did not exist when Allen was being considered by the BBWAA.

Read the full article and Dick Allen biography at CooperstownCred.com…