How Dick Allen, Dave Parker inspired a young ballplayer

The first time I saw an image of baseball star Dick Allen, he was on the June 12, 1972 cover of Sports Illustrated, juggling baseballs and smoking a cigarette in front of the Chicago White Sox dugout.

I was impressed and more than a little intimidated by the big, bad slugger on the cover of SI.

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Allen would go on to win the AL MVP that year with a league-leading 37 home runs and 113 RBI.

After his MVP season, Allen appeared on a 1973 cover of Baseball Illustrated, which called him “Baseball’s No. 1 Power Hitter.” That same year, singer Jim Croce released his hit single “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” who was the “baddest man in the whole damn town” on the South side of Chicago.

I immediately thought of Dick Allen wielding his 42-ounce bat.

In 1972, as a 9-year-old kid, I was totally consumed by two things—baseball and sports magazines. I had also recently discovered baseball cards, which became another childhood passion.

A year later, I remember pulling a 1973 Topps card of Allen, which showed him completing his mighty swing. But the card that captured my attention even more was his 1974 Topps card—a closeup that showed Allen wearing his trademark batting helmet and sporting big, wide-rimmed glasses.

I didn’t know until years later that Allen wore the batting helmet even on the field because rowdy, unruly fans sometimes hurled things like fruit and batteries at him.

What inspired me back then was Allen’s glasses. You see, I could relate.

When I first started playing baseball as a little kid, I couldn’t hit a lick. In fact, I struck out almost every time, which was baffling because I loved the game, watched it on TV every Saturday, and practiced as much as I could. But for some reason, I just could not put a wooden bat to a round piece of cowhide.

I also couldn’t see the blackboard at school, which caused me terrible headaches. Alas, my parents and eye doctor soon discovered that I couldn’t see. My eyes were so bad that I needed glasses—both for school and baseball.

This was awful news, of course, because as an aspiring young ballplayer, glasses just weren’t very cool. I feared I might grow up to be the next Eddie Brinkman.

But seeing a slugger like Allen wearing glasses in the field and at the plate somehow made it cool and suddenly acceptable.

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Sure enough, the glasses helped. Once I got over the embarrassment of wearing spectacles, I began to see the ball and rake. Thanks to Dick Allen, I put together a some good years at the plate.

Wearing glasses served me well, as they did Allen, a seven-time All-Star who was just elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Allen deserved the honor for the impressive numbers he put up year after year, but also for the terrible cruelty and intolerance he faced as a black man playing in the 1960s and ’70s. He joins black stars like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, who overcame racial injustice to reach the sacred Hall of Fame.

Allen will be inducted with another player I greatly admire.

Like Allen, Dave Parker was one of the top sluggers and most feared hitters of the 1970s and ’80s. He was named the 1978 NL MVP after hitting a league-high .334 to win his second straight batting title. A year later, he led one of the most fun teams in baseball history to the 1979 World Series.

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Parker and Willie Stargell formed one of the greatest power-hitting duos of all-time. They both wielded big bats and swung them with all their might. Their batting stances and swings were mimicked by Little Leaguers all over the country.

Led by Parker and Stargell, the 1979 “We Are Family” Pirates captivated the nation, swinging and dancing their way to the 1979 World Series championship.

I visited PNC Park in Pittsburgh last summer and enjoyed playing that song and sharing memories of the 1979 Pirates with my wife and daughter.

In 2021, I had the pleasure of meeting Parker briefly at The National in Chicago. I watched him graciously and kindly sign cards and memorabilia and copies of his new book, “Cobra.”

It’s always exciting watching deserving players selected for the Hall of Fame. It’s even more special when they are players you grew up watching and idolizing.

— Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD. You can reach him at jowens@aimmedia.com.