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Dick Allen Photo Gallery
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We’re Contacted by Long-Time Friend of Dick Allen!
“I’ve been around the game a long time, and Dick Allen is the greatest player I’ve ever seen play in my life. –Hall-of-Famer Rich Gossage
As I’ve mentioned many times, we always enjoy it when we’re contacted by a relative or friend of a former major leaguer. Today, I have something special. I was recently contacted by Mark Carfagno, a longtime friend of Dick Allen. Their friendship began when Mark was a Philadelphia groundskeeper back in the 1970s. He remained a crew member for 33 years. Their friendship continued for the rest of Dick Allen’s life. Mark even served as a pallbearer at his funeral.
I recently send Mark some questions asking him to elaborate on his relationship with Dick Allen. He was kind enough to answer them in detail. I think you’ll enjoy reading what Mark has to say about Allen, a great ballplayer who certainly was one of the most misunderstood players in recent memory. Before I present Mark’s responses, I want to remind everyone about what a great player Dick Allen was.
Dick Allen’s Career Statistics
Dick Allen played 15 seasons (1963-’77) in the majors. Over his career, he hit .292, with 351 home runs, 1119 RBIs, a .534 slugging percentage, a .378 on-base percentage, and a remarkable 156 OPS+. He was a seven-time All-Star, National League Rookie of the Year (1964), American League MVP (1972), two-time American League homerun leader (1972 and ’74), and also led the American League in RBIs in 1972.
Of the players whose careers intersected with Dick Allen, only Mickey Mantle‘s lifetime OPS+ of 172 topped Allen’s lifetime 156 (100 is the average for major leaguers). In addition, his OPS+ is the second-highest of any retired player not in the Hall of Fame, and currently ranks Allen 20th all-time. What’s even more impressive, he ranks 6th all-time among right-handed hitters, tied with Frank Thomas and Willie Mays, and ahead of Hank Aaron and Joe DiMaggio. A case can be made that Dick Allen is one of the top 20 hitters in baseball history.
What follows are the questions I send to Mark and his responses, only slightly edited for space constraints. Personal photos from Mark are included in the gallery.
Mark Carfagno’s Responses to My Questions:
Can you elaborate a bit more on how you came to meet Dick Allen and how you become friends?
I first met Dick Allen in 1971 while working as a groundskeeper for the Phillies at Veteran’s Stadium. He came into the groundskeepers’ locker room as a member of the Dodgers and wanted to catch up with the crew from the old Connie Mack Stadium. He sat and chatted with us for over three hours.
In 1975 he returned to the Phillies for his second tour and that was when we became real good friends. Especially after he found out that I lost both of my parents at a very young age. He approached me and said “If you ever need anything, including money please don’t be afraid to ask me. If I found out that you didn’t ask, I’ll whoop your butt.”
What did your friendship involve?
The friendship grew when he took me up to his home and farm in Perkasie, PA to meet his family. I spent many nights at the Allen residence and had many meals cooked by his first wife Barbara, who I continue to stay in touch with. I met his three children, Terri, Richard Jr., and Eron. Terri was very outgoing and loved to sing and dance. Music was often playing in the home and I and Terri along with Dick, who liked to sing, spent days and nights acting like stars but laughing like hell.
How long did the acquaintance last?
I remained friends with Dick right up until his death.
Did you get to know his family pretty well?
I am still are very close to his family and speak occasionally to his brothers Ronnie and Hank. It was an honor to be a pallbearer and a speaker at his Celebration of Life Service. I attended his number retirement ceremony and my wife and I spoke briefly to him but it was a busy day and that was the last time I spoke to him.
Can you give a couple of personal reminiscences, anecdotes, etc. about him that the readers might find interesting?
1. Dick worked as an instructor in spring training in Clearwater, FL where I too went to work as a groundskeeper. He stayed in the same motel as I did and we went to dinner occasionally with my wife and Pete Cera. Pete was the assistant clubhouse manager for the Phillies. Pete was a trainer in the minor leagues and often looked after Dick, especially down South where blacks were treated differently and he couldn’t go into the same restaurants as the white players. However, Pete always made sure that Dick Allen had food and Dick never forgot what Pete did for him in the 60s. When Dick returned to the Phillies in 1975 after the introductory press conference in May, the first person he wanted to see was Pete Cera. He gave Pete a big hug and kiss. That was typical Dick Allen, always remembering the little people.
2, One night while in Dick’s room in Florida, Allen took a cold meatball sandwich and placed it on top of a lampshade. I asked what he was doing. He explained that’s how he heated his food up while in the minor leagues after Pete Cera gave him the food and Dick took it back to his room.
3. One day while in Philadelphia Dick was told to scout a college baseball game at Widener University in Chester, PA. For some reason, the game was not played so we drove to the High School game across town and watched Chester High School. After the game, the first base coach of Chester approached Dick and said: “You’re Richie Allen. I remember when you would drive down Lehigh Ave and hand out money to the kids on the street to buy ice cream.” Not too many of these stories are told and Dick didn’t want them to be told, but if the media would have known about them perhaps their view of him would have been different.
Did he ever talk about the Hall of Fame?
He didn’t like to talk about the Hall of Fame because it involved the writers. He always told me “my peers know how good I was, meaning Mays, Aaron. McCovey, Stargell, and Schmidt and that’s good enough for me.” [Since 2013 Mark has been the campaign manager for DICK ALLEN BELONGS IN THE HALL OF FAME].
Do you remember him commenting favorably or negatively about any teammates, managers?
I don’t ever recall Dick Allen saying anything negative about a player, manager, coach, or executive. He loved Gene Mauch. Called him the smartest baseball mind he was ever associated with. He spoke very highly of Mike Schmidt, who he mentored, and was really close to Jim Kaat and Tony Taylor. He got along with everyone including his managers, although it was not always written or stated that way.
Did he ever comment to you about his treatment in Philadelphia?
Of course, you are aware of all the hatred and racism he faced in Little Rock which is well documented. As for his treatment in Philly, he explained it to me this way: “Sure Jackie Robinson had it rough and I appreciate all that he did, but eventually he was beloved in Brooklyn. Me, they hated me in my home town. They cursed at me, vandalized my home, slashed my tires, and threw bricks through my front window at home. They did that for 6 years and I had enough.”
Anything else you’d like to add about him? What kind of man was he, etc.?
Dick Allen may be the most misunderstood person I’ve ever met. He really was a wonderful human being and a great father. I’ll also add that he was a great athlete who had over 100 Division One basketball scholarship offers. I’ve said this before: Dick Allen was an “athletic freak,” like Bo Jackson, Allen Iverson, Wilt Chamberlain. Freaks do special things. One thing that Allen did that only Babe Ruth could do was hit the ball over 500 feet at least 20 times.
Anytime his name is brought up, the first words out of people’s mouths are, “I was there when he hit it over the Coke Sign.” Or, “I saw him hit one over the roof.” Or, “I saw him hit one over the 75-foot high scoreboard.” When he passed away his tremendous power was always mentioned. To me that means something. It should be part of his Hall of fame resume.
Also what Allen went through in Arkansas and Philadelphia should be taken into consideration [for the Hall of Fame]. How could he play under those conditions and play at an optimum or Hall of fame level? Politics has kept Dick Allen out of the Hall of Fame for years. Racism plays a part also. His career 156 OPS+ ALONE should get him into the Hall of Fame. He ranks tied for 19th with Willie Mays. All of his Hall of fame peers are nowhere to be found on that list. OPS+ is believed to be the fairest stat to judge a player’s HOF case because it factors in the era played in, ballparks and pitchers, etc. It’s one of the biggest injustices in all of Sports that fact that Dick Allen is NOT in the hall of Fame.
We thank Mark Carfagno for sharing his personal reflections about his friendship with a great ballplayer who was often misunderstood and deserves serious consideration for induction to the Hall of Fame, Dick Allen.
Gary Livacari
