Before September 3, 2020, the Phillies had retired five jersey numbers. The numbers were as follows:
- No. 1 (Richie Ashburn)
- No. 14 (Jim Bunning)
- No. 20 (Mike Schmidt)
- No. 32 (Steve Carlton)
- No. 36 (Robin Roberts)
In addition, the Phils, like every other MLB team, have retired the No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, and have rounded out their group of all-time retired ballplayers with Chuck Klein and Grover Cleveland Alexander.
Other than the fact that all of these guys (save for Jackie Robinson) are extremely talented figures throughout the history of Phillies baseball, there's another common bond they all share. Each and every one of them is enshrined in Cooperstown's National Baseball Hall of Fame. It's an "unofficial" policy that has been established throughout the past few decades, according to the Phillies official website, that only Hall of Famers will be players who are considered for number retirement.
On Thursday, September 3, that unofficial policy was broken. Dick Allen, whose quest for the Hall of Fame is one of the most heavily supported cases throughout baseball, became immortalized in Phillies history along with his No. 15 jersey number.
Phillies owner John Middleton acknowledged the violation of the policy he had helped to uphold, saying that he "had to right a wrong" (via John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
There to help celebrate the retirement of No. 15 was Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, who detailed some of the awful things Allen experienced as a Black baseball player in the 1960s but emphasized the third -- and later first -- baseman's courage and perseverance.
"He was a sensitive black man that refused to be treated as a second-class citizen," Allen said (via Tim Kelly of RADIO.COM Sports).
The abuse from fans and even teammates became too much to handle, resulting in Allen's trade demand to the team, which resulted in what became a controversial deal to the Cardinals involving Curt Flood. Eventually, Allen came back to Philly, where he played for two seasons in the mid-70s, making it a nine-year stint with the Phillies overall.
Middleton additionally stressed that it was due to his production as a ballplayer that his number was being retired, though what he achieved in the face of intense racism makes is career all the more impressive.
Schmidt also called Allen "an amazing mentor" and told him that while baseball exists in Philly, he'll be considered one of its legends (via Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
Throughout those nine season in red and white, Allen belted 204 home runs and slashed an impressive .290/.371/.530 line. He's one of 10 Phillies with 200 or more home runs hit while playing with the team, and he joins Bobby Abreu, Jim Thome and Mike Schmidt as the only Phillies with an OPS of .900 or higher (post-1950). Though his MVP season came with the White Sox in 1972 (a league-high 37 HR, 113 RBI and 1.023 OPS), his best year in terms of WAR actually came in 1964 with the Phillies, when he burst onto the scene and took home Rookie of the Year honors (201 hits, 29 HR, 91 RBI, .318/.382/.557, and a league-high 125 runs scored and 13 triples).
Next step? The Hall of Fame. The closest he ever came on his initial ballot was in 1996, when he received 18.9% of the vote in his 13th year of eligibility. However, he will reappear on the veteran's committee ballot this season, alongside names like Ken Boyer, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat and others.
If the violation of the Phillies "unofficial" policy is any indication, Allen's Hall of Fame luck could change as soon as 2021.
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