Two of the most feared hitters of the 1970s will get their Hall-of-Fame nod when Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen were elected by the “Classic Era” committee in Cooperstown on Sunday.
“Yes, I cried,” Parker said after receiving the call from Hall President Jane Forbes Clark. “It only lasted a few minutes because I don’t cry.”
With his body shaking during a Zoom news conference due to Parkinson’s disease diagnosed in 2012, Parker displayed the quick wit he became known for during a 19-year career that ended in 1991 and included a pair of World Series titles. When asked if he would have considered himself a Hall of Famer, Parker responded with one of his oft-quoted comments.
‘Without a doubt. When the leaves turned brown, I wore the battle crown,” he said. “That was one of my sayings, so I always thought I was going to be a big leaguer. I told my mother when I was eight that I was going to be a baseball star and one day buy her a house. Well, I did that in ’78. I achieved that.’
Several fans online called Parker and Allen’s selections “too late.” Parker received 14 of the 16 votes and Allen received 13. Elections required a vote of 75 percent or more. They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 27, along with the players chosen by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, with voting to be announced on January 21.
Tommy John came third with seven votes in a committee that considered candidates whose main impact was before 1980. Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, failed California Senate candidate Steve Garvey, Vic Harris and the recently hired Luis Tiant each received fewer than five votes.
Parker replaced the late Robert Clemente in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970s
Parker tips his hat to the crowd during a ceremony honoring the 1979 World Series winners
Dick Allen of the Chicago White Sox poses before an MLB game at Payne Park in Sarasota
Both Parker and Allen were the subject of famous Sports Illustrated photos in which both sluggers smoked cigarettes in the dugout.
“The election of Dave Parker and Dick Allen to Cooperstown is a clear demonstration that we need to bring cigarettes back to baseball,” Toronto sports fan Mike Beauvais wrote online.
Nicknamed The Cobra, Parker hit .290 with 339 home runs and 1,493 RBIs for Pittsburgh (1973-83), Cincinnati (1984-87), Oakland (1988-89), Milwaukee (1990), California (1991) and Toronto (1991) .
Since 2002, the Hall has decided which team logo is used on a player’s cap.
“Maybe I should split it into three,” Parker said.
He won World Series titles in 1979 and ’89. He was the 1978 NL MVP, won the 1977 and ’78 NL batting titles and was a seven-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove right fielder.
‘I was a five-instrument player. I could do them all, he said. “I never trotted to first base. I don’t know if people noticed, but I ran every action.”
He had the Pirates wear T-shirts that read, “If you hear any noise, it’s just me and the boys,” an idea that emerged when Pittsburgh lost three of four after a 5-0 start in 1976.
“Don’t try to copyright it because it’s mine,” he recalled telling his teammates.
Dave Parker sits on a stool as team mascot Pirate Parrot watches in the dugout
Parker homered for the A’s in the 1989 World Series opener and was credited with helping the Bash Brothers of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire to the title.
“I taught them how to win,” Parker said. “They didn’t know how to win. They had all this thunder and they didn’t know how to win.”
Parker led Major League outfielders with 26 assists in 1977, finishing with 143.
“I enjoyed throwing players out,” he said. “And if they kept running, I would hit them on the back of the head with the ball.”
Allen, who died in 2020 at the age of 78, was born in Wampum, Pennsylvania, and he was nicknamed The Wampum Whammer, along with Crash – shortened from Crash Helmet, which started when he wore his helmet in the field to protect himself protect from demanding Philadelphia Phillies fans.
He hit .292 with 351 home runs and 1,119 RBIs from 1963-77 for Philadelphia (1963-69, 1975-76), St. Louis (1970), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1971), Chicago White Sox (1972-74) and Oakland (1977).
Dick Allen looks on during Bobby Abreu’s induction ceremony to the Phillies Wall of Fame before a game against the Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park on August 3, 2019
Allen was known as Richie Allen to the Phillies before asking to be called Dick for the remainder of his career. Allen was a seven-time All-Star and was voted the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP.
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Félix Hernández are among the 14 players eligible for the BBWAA ballot for the first time in the upcoming voting. The holdovers include Billy Wagner, who trailed by five votes last January.
“The @baseballhall Class of 2025 is off to a great start!” college baseball analyst Wane McDonnell Jr. wrote about It was far too late for both Allen and Parker.”
Parker never received more than 24.5 percent during his fifteen appearances on the BBWAA ballot from 1997 to 2011. He was on fewer than six ballots of the 2013 Expansion Era committee and seven of the 2019 Modern Era committee , which considered candidates from 1970-87.
Allen posted a career-high 18.9 percent on the BBWAA ballot between 1983 and 1997, but then fell short in a series of committee votes.