Dick Allen passes away before the Hall of Fame could do what it should have done long ago

One of the epitomes of cool around the Phillies organization, Dick Allen passed away at his home today.

He was 78 years old.

Allen will be remembered most for his tumultuous time here in Philadelphia, where the press and fanbase were against him almost from the start. Since then, he has mended his relationships with the organization, becoming a team ambassador in his remaining years here in the city.

More recently, he has been the subject of much debate about whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Meghan Montemurro wrote a detailed case for his inclusion into Cooperstown, further backing up the thought of many around him. The Phillies as a group tried to help alleviate the sting of not being elected in his last go ‘round by breaking their own protocol and retiring his number to rightfully hang among the team’s immortals.

Matt Gelb also wrote a wonderful piece this fall about some of the articles that detailed some of Allen’s problems with the city. He spoke of a writer who, quite radically, gave Allen’s side of the story and presented the case for why he acted the way he did. Both of those pieces from The Athletic are excellent and well worth your time.

Dick Allen is a Hall of Famer. He has been screwed over so many times now, it’s tough to keep up. Now that he has passed away, it’ll probably be likely that he is voted in since Cooperstown is ridiculous that way. Shame on them. Allen belongs among the game’s best because he was one of the game’s best.

The game is a little sadder now that Allen is gone. Rest in peace, Wampum Walloper.