Ad Disclosure
Mayor Nutter Backs Former Phillie Dick Allen for a Hall of Fame Bid
By Jim Adair
Published:
Dick Allen spent fifteen years trying to get into the Hall of Fame — from 1983 to 1997 — and never made the cut. Needing 75% of the vote at one point over that span, Allen topped out at 18.9% in 1996, and lost his eligibility after not being voted in over those fifteen years. However, Allen’s got another shot, this time around on the Hall of Fame’s Golden Era Ballot, and Mayor Nutter has formally thrown his support behind the former Phillie.
Allen — who played for the Phils from ’63 to ’69 and again in ’75-’76 — notched 351 career home runs and ranks 19th all-time in adjusted OPS+. He qualifies for the Golden Era ballot as a “player who played in at least 10 major league seasons … [is] not on Major League Baseball’s ineligibility list … [and has been] retired for 21 or more seasons.” The ten finalists for the ballot will be named after the conclusion of Game 7 of the World Series tonight, but there is one local connection on Allen’s side: One of the committee members tasked with choosing the finalists is Pat Gillick, and the Phils could use a good story right now.
When he's not writing about sports here or ranting about them on Twitter, Jim is probably watching X-Files on Netflix or drinking a beer somewhere. Jim has nothing against hockey, it's just not his style. He once met Duce Staley at a Sixers game.