Richard Anthony Allen should be in the Hall of Fame

They booed him mercilessly in Philadelphia, they booed him in Chicago, but in the end, the fans respected his talent.
 

 In the long history of Major League Baseball, there’s not another player who was like Dick Allen, who passed away on Monday at the age of 78. 

The slugger -- who played for the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox, and A’s -- had a swing like no one else. His bat was like nobody's either. He carried a 40-and-change-ounce bat, one of the heaviest to ever be used (Babe Ruth swung a 42-ouncer early in his career). 

When Allen swung that massive lumber, he'd smash legendary home runs -- ones that might still be orbiting the planet as we speak.His most famous came on May 29, 1965, when he launched a home run an estimated 525 feet, over the Coke sign at Connie Mack Stadium:

Pirates slugger Willie Stargell -- who knows a few things about prodigious blasts --said, “Now I know why they boo Richie all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenir.”

He was once caught mid-meal when White Sox manager Chuck Tanner needed a pinch-hitter on July 4, 1972.

 

 

"I was eating a chili dog when I heard Chuck wanted me to hit,"Allen said. "I had chili all over my shirt so I put on a new one and a pair of pants with no underclothes."

What did he do after that?

"Sparky Lyle threw me a slider and it wound up in the seats."

The stories are endless and Allen's numbers were solid -- he hit .292/.378/.534 and he bashed 351 home runs. He was one of the most feared sluggers to ever step to the plate.

But Allen was so much more than the stats on the back of a baseball card. He was also one of the coolest to ever play the game.

His look is iconic -- the large glasses, the mustache and sideburns, the nonchalance -- all combined to make him a symbol of ‘70s cool.