He was a young man who needed to make a living, and baseball was the game he loved. It was the reality of the way Dick Allen had been treated for five years, despite being a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate.ĭick Allen stood up for himself in the face of racism, but he had little to no recourse to get out of the toxic workplace he found himself in. So when Curt Flood refused to report to the Phillies in 1969, citing the racism of the fans and calling Philadelphia America’s “northernmost southern city,” it was not some abstract impression. The largely white fan base were threatened by that kind of response and labeled Allen as a “troublemaker” and a “bad teammate” and a million other terms which, though perhaps more coded, were just as racist as anything Thomas said. Thomas taunted Allen with some very racist remarks Allen stood up for himself. Today, I hope most of us see the incident for exactly what it was: Racism. That altercation became the pivotal moment in Dick Allen’s career - literally, the opening of his autobiography. Signs hung from the upper deck read “we want Thomas.” While Allen followed the organization’s instructions and declined to talk about the fight, the 36-year-old Thomas - who had moonlighted as a morning radio DJ during the off-season - went back on the air and accused the 23-year-old of being the reason he was released.įrom the next day on, Allen - the National League Rookie of the Year - was greeted with boos in his home ballpark. The incident was the last straw in a string of abusive behavior from the aging veteran. After that, several teammates pulled them apart.ĭuring the game, in which Allen tripled and Thomas homered, the two shook hands in the dugout. Allen ducked, but took a bruising shot to the shoulder. Thomas - who had been taking batting practice - took a swing at Allen with his bat. But that was not Dick Allen’s style.Īllen told Thomas “Frank, I told you, that stuff don’t go with me,” then popped him with a left-hand to the jaw. Black players who held coveted roster spots had a lot of incentive to simply take the abuse. The Phillies were among the worst offenders, having only taken on their first American-born black player in 1961. Many big league clubs still maintained a de facto policy of only rostering a few black players at a time.
This was less than 20 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.
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It opens with “the Frank Thomas incident.” In July of 1965, just months into his 2nd full season in the majors, Allen got into a fight with Thomas, a veteran white teammate.Īs Allen tells the story, Thomas - who was known for bullying the few black players on the team - asked Allen if he “was trying to be another Muhammad Clay,” and accused him of “always running his mouth off.” Louis was a momentous one.Īllen’s autobiography “Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen” opens not with his childhood or his first moment on a big league field. But Allen - who died Monday at the age of 78 - was a significant part of the labor struggle in his own right, and his one year in St.
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As most fans know, when Curt Flood was traded to the Phillies after the 1969 season, he refused to report and thus began a years-long legal battle which - though Flood would ultimately lose his case - would pave the way for free agency.ĭick Allen is often just a footnote in that story - the player who came back to the Cardinals in that deal.
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