It was a momentous night last December when late Philadelphia Phillies icon Dick Allen was officially elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Now, the Hall of Fame has announced that Allen's plaque will bear a Phillies cap. He will be the first player to go in as a Phillie since Jim Bunning in 1996, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber. We always assumed Allen would be indicted as a Phillie, but now we know for sure after his family made the selection official.
After multiple tries, Allen, who passed away in 2020, finally got the call to the Hall of Fame on Dec. 8, when the Classic Baseball Era Committee announced that he had been elected with 13 of 16 votes — an emotional event for Allen's family.
Phillies cap chosen for Dick Allen's Hall of Fame plaque after storied career
Allen spent nine of his 15 MLB seasons with the Phillies, from 1963-69 and 1975-76. After his brief debut in 1963, Allen won the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year Award with the Phillies. He went on to play 1,070 games in Philadelphia, registering 1,143 hits, 204 home runs and 655 RBI. The Phillies enshrined Allen in the team's Wall of Fame in 1994 and retired his number 15 in 2020.
In 1,749 total career games, Allen racked up 1,848 hits, 351 home runs and 1,119 RBI. Known for his power, he hit .292 with a .912 OPS (156 OPS+). He also played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. He was named to seven All-Star teams, thrice as a Phillie, and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 1972 with the White Sox.
Allen faced racism throughout his career and was known to have a tense relationship with Phillies management and fans early on, according to Bruce Markusen of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. But the Pennsylvania native became a beloved, revered figure late in his life and now even has a mural in South Philly.
The Class of 2025 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 27, in Cooperstown, New York. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be shown live on MLB Network. Along with Allen, the rest of the class includes Dave Parker (Pirates), CC Sabathia (Yankees), Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners) and former Phillies closer Billy Wagner (Astros).