Philadelphia Baseball History

Much of what has hurt Dick Allen in reaching the Hall of Fame has been his reputation in the press of creating racial divisions on the teams for which he played. This is a reputation that has been perpetuated unfairly. To the contrary, Allen has been caught in a world where American society in general, and baseball in particular, has had to come to grips with racial discrimination. While white America preferred to sweep the problem of racial discrimination under the rug, players such as Allen were outspoken, refusing to let the issue be covered up. It is his outspokenness, when many Americans preferred to turn a blind eye to societal ills, that handicapped Allen’s chances of being inducted into the Hall, and which to this day haunts his candidacy.  Some have called Allen Philadelphia’s Jackie Robinson. And rightly so. Allen’s career was marred by racial discrimination by fans in Philadelphia. His endurance of this mistreatment, while acting as one of the greatest power hitte...

In the midst of an up and down season, the Philadelphia Phillies found themselves six games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in August of 1980.  It was a critical moment in Phillies history.  The Phillies had won the National League East Division in 1976, 1977 and 1978, only to lose in the first round of the playoffs.  Pete Rose was signed as a free agent in 1979 to help the Phillies get over the hump, and make it to the World Series.  The plan did not work in 1979, as the Phillies saw their division rivals, the Pirates, take the division, and go on to beat the Orioles in the World Series.  If this crew of talented veterans was going to win it all for the City of Philadelphia, time was running short. The Phillies roared back into contention in the months of August and September.  The charge was led by future Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt.  But te Phillies found help from an unlikely source.  September call-up, Marty Bystrom, proce...