This book about Dick “Richie” Allen, for me was a very good book in giving what it was like for him playing in the 60’s and 70’s. During the 60’s he spent most of his time with the Phillies and though I lived on the west coast I would still hear his name and some Saturday’s see highlights of what he and other stars had done during the week. What I did not know and what the author brings out is the hatred that some of the fans, and the sports writers had for him mainly for the color of his skin and for speaking out of how the salaries of players were wrong. They were sent forth by management with no bargaining by a player and for some reason everyone thought that this was okay. When he spoke out about it he was criticized by not only the fans of Philly, but also by some of the press. There were some of the press that agreed with what he was saying but only a few. Here was a player who was outstanding, not only as a fielder but also as a hitter. He won rookie of the year in 64 and as they say he was off and running, or hitting some of the longest homeruns. Everyone talks about the collapse of the Phillies in 64 losing 12 games, but during those 12 games Allen hit .438, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and 11 RBI in the last 12 games he did his part. In 65 he hit a home run in old Connie Mack Stadium 529- foot it cleared the left center Coke sign. Yet he was still booed by the home town fans. In the book there is a fight that took place between Allen and a player named Frank Thomas who everyone said hit Allen with a bat and was the one that started the fight, yet because of the time and him being white and then getting traded people in Philadelphia looked at this as an African American caused a white person to lose his job. The author does a good job at bringing in what was going in the country at the time with riots after Martin King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy both being assassinated. You also factor in the city he played for was racially divided and then you add his own flair of showing up late and not to batting practice and you begin to see how it all came to a head. Once traded he had the same problems in every place he played. He was fun to watch and as a youngster I enjoyed collecting his cards because he sure could hit. This is a very good book about an interesting person on and off the field.

Baseball has had many players through the years whose talent would be overshadowed by some type of controversy, be it bad press, a bad personality or maybe just bad luck. One of these players was Dick Allen, who played primarily with the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox between 1964 and 1976, with stops in Los Angeles (Dodgers) and St. Louis along the way. His story and career is captured in this biography by long time Philadelphia writer William C. Kashatus.

The book follows the tried-and-true format for a sports biography by writing about Allen’s childhood in which his father was gone for long periods of time but when he was around, the moments were special for Dick. His mother ran a strict house and that helped Dick concentrate on baseball. When he signed with the Phillies (who subsequently called him “Richie” on rosters and press releases) he had his first exposure to racism and discrimination when he played in Little Rock, Arkansas. That brought a profound awareness to him on the civil rights movement and his views were note always popular with the media or the fans in Philadelphia, a city that was having its own problems with race riots in 1964.

Throughout the book, Allen is portrayed in a sympathetic light, explaining that many of the accusations made through the press are countered by either teammates, his manager or other personnel associated with the teams. This was the case not only with the Phillies but also with the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, the other teams for whom Allen played in his career. He enjoyed the best success in Chicago where twice he led the American League in home runs and was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1972. He then went back to the Phillies after expressing his desire to “retire” after the 1974 season.

After writing about Allen’s post-baseball life, Kashatus devotes the last chapter to making a pitch for Allen to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He uses today’s advanced statistics to make a favorable case for Allen that from strictly numbers, looks favorable when compared to legendary players who are already enshrined such as Harmon Killebrew. It is the author’s belief that Allen has been kept out because of the media’s negative feelings toward him, both in the past and present. This is a section that is one that is best left for the readers to make that judgement for themselves.

This is the second book on two years written about Allen and this one shows the player in a very favorable light. If a reader was a fan of Dick Allen during his career, then this will one to add to his or her library.

I wish to thank Schiffer Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could not download this book to my Kindle. I'm sorry about missing a chance to read it.

Can't download it - no kindle version so unable to review it, sorry.