Phillies retire Allen’s No. 15 in moving ceremony
PHILADELPHIA » Dick Allen’s No. 15 was retired by the Philadelphia Phillies in a ceremony Thursday, a long overdue honor for one of the franchise’s greatest players who fought against racism during a tumultuous period with the team in the 1960s.
The 78-year-old Allen thanked Phillies managing partner John Middleton, who broke from the team’s longstanding “unwritten” policy of only retiring the number of players who are in the Hall of Fame.
“I thank the city of Philadelphia. Even though it was rough, I’ve made some friends along the way,” Allen said.
Mike Schmidt, a Hall of Fame third baseman who helped lure Allen out of retirement to return to Philadelphia for a second stint with the team in 1975, called him “an amazing mentor” who was wrongly labeled a “bad teammate” and “troublemaker.”
“Dick was a sensitive Black man who refused to be treated as a second-class citizen,” Schmidt said in a speech.
Schmidt then unfurled a red banner revealing the No. 15 hanging on a brick wall behind the left-field stands at Citizens Bank Park, before the Phillies hosted Washington.
“He played in front of home fans that were products of that racist era (with) racist teammates and different rules for whites and Blacks. Fans threw stuff at him and thus Dick wore a batting helmet throughout the whole game. They yelled degrading racial slurs. They dumped trash in his front yard at his home. In general, he was tormented and it came from all directions. And Dick rebelled.”
Schmidt pointed out Allen didn’t have a negative reputation playing for the Cardinals, Dodgers and White Sox.
“My friends, these (negative) labels have kept Dick Allen out of the Hall of Fame,” Schmidt said. “Imagine what Dick could’ve accomplished as a player in another era, on another team, left alone to hone his skills, to be confident, to come to the ballpark every day and just play baseball.”
Middleton choked up talking about Allen, recalling how he spent summers as a kid listening to Phillies games on a transistor radio at the Jersey shore. Allen was his favorite player. “One of my strongest memories is a group of white suburban 8-, 9-, 10-yearold kids playing pickup ball and fantasizing we’re Dick Allen,” Middleton said.
Friday’s games
Detroit (Boyd 1-4) at Minnesota (Dobnak 5-2), 2:10 p.m., 1st game
Toronto (Roark 2-1) at Boston (Godley 0-3), 4:10 p.m., 1st game
N.Y. Yankees (TBD) at Baltimore (Cobb 1-3), 5:05 p.m., 1st game Minnesota (TBD) at Detroit (TBD), 5:40 p.m., 2nd game
Miami (Lopez 3-2) at Tampa Bay (Fleming 2-0), 6:40 p.m.
Milwaukee (Burnes 1-0) at Cleveland (Carrasco 2-3), 7:10 p.m.
Boston (TBD) at Toronto (TBD), 7:40 p.m., 2nd game
Chicago White Sox (Dunning 0-0) at Kansas City (Singer 1-3), 8:05 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (TBD) at Baltimore (Lopez 0-0), 8:35 p.m., 2nd game Houston (McCullers Jr. 3-2) at L.A. Angels (Bundy 4-2), 9:10 p.m.
Texas (Cody 0-0) at Seattle (Kikuchi 1-2), 9:10 p.m.
San Diego (Davies 5-2) at A’s (Luzardo 2-1), 9:40 p.m.
Saturday’s games
San Diego at A’s, 4:10 p.m.
Miami at Tampa Bay, 6:40 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 7:05 p.m.
Houston at L.A. Angels, 7:07 p.m., 1st game
Detroit at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Cleveland, 7:10 p.m. Toronto at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees at Baltimore, 7:35 p.m. Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels at Houston, 10:37 p.m., 2nd game
Atlanta 22 14 .611 Philadelphia 17 15 .531 Miami 16 16 .500 New York 16 21 .432 Washington 12 22 .353 NOTE: games back data omitted because not all teams have played the same number of games due to postponements. Postseason qualification this season is determined based on winning percentage.
W L Pct
Chicago 22 15 .595 St. Louis 14 14 .500 Milwaukee 17 19 .472 Cincinnati 16 21 .432 Pittsburgh 11 24 .314 NOTE: games back data omitted because not all teams have played the same number of games due to postponements. Postseason qualification this season is determined based on winning percentage.
Los Angeles 28 10 .737 San Diego 23 15 .605 Colorado 18 19 .486 Giants 18 20 .474 Arizona 14 23 .378 NOTE: games back data omitted because not all teams have played the same number of games due to postponements. Postseason qualification this season is determined based on winning percentage.
Wednesday’s games
Colorado 9, Giants 6
N.Y. Mets 9, Baltimore 4 Toronto 2, Miami 1 Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 3 Philadelphia 3, Washington 0 Chicago Cubs 8, Pittsburgh 2 Atlanta 7, Boston 5 Milwaukee 8, Detroit 5
L.A. Dodgers 3, Arizona 2, 10 innings San Diego 11, L.A. Angels 4
Thursday’s games W L
Pittsburgh 6, Chicago Cubs 2 Washington at Philadelphia N.Y. Yankees at N.Y. Mets San Diego at L.A. Angels Arizona at L.A. Dodgers
Pct