Allen, Parker named to Hall of Fame's Class of 2025

Dick Allen and Dave Parker, two of the most recognizable sluggers from an era stretching from the mid-1960s through the ‘80s, have now earned bronze plaques in Cooperstown.

The powerful pair were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, Dec. 8. The Hall of Fame, previously comprised of 346 elected members, have added at least two new names to its hallowed roster.  

Two of the eight candidates the 16-member Classic Baseball Era Committee considered, Parker was named on 14 of 16 ballots and Allen on 13 of 16 as the only finalists to reach the 75-percent threshold necessary for election.

In making the announcement live on MLB Network, Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch read off a list of accomplishments for each before ending with, “Welcome to Cooperstown.”

During a Zoom call with reporters after learning of his election, Parker was asked if he ever got discouraged in past Hall of Fame election cycles.

“I never did like the minor leagues or not being in the Hall of Fame. I’m just glad it’s over,” he said, before being asked if he always considered himself a Hall of Famer. “Without a doubt. When the leaves turn brown, I’ll be wearing a batting crown. That was one of my sayings. So, I always thought I was going to be a Hall of Famer. I told my mother at eight years old that I would be a baseball star and one day buy her a house. Well, I did that in ’78. I got that done.”

The 73-year-old Parker, who had revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012, played 19 seasons in the major leagues, slugging 339 home runs and posting a .290 batting average with the Pirates, Reds, A's, Brewers, Angels and Blue Jays. A seven-time All-Star, he won back-to-back batting titles in 1977 and ‘78 while earning National League MVP honors that second year with a .334 average, .585 slugging percentage, 30 home runs and 117 RBI.

The following season, he was named MVP of the All-Star Game before winning a World Series title as a key cog in the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates championship club, batting .345 during the seven-game Fall Classic. The Cobra would go on to win the World Series once again with the Oakland Athletics in 1989.

After receiving the phone call that puts him among the pantheon of the sport’s all-time greats, Parker said, “It made me feel great. Tears? Yeah, I cried. It only took a few minutes because I don’t cry.”

A native of Mississippi and the pride of Cincinnati, he had a rifle for a right arm, winning three Gold Gloves in the outfield and three Silver Sluggers at the plate, leading the National League with a .321 batting average during his first five full seasons in the majors from 1975 to ‘79.

How did Parker, the ballplayer, want to be remembered?

“As a guy who left it all on the field,” he replied. “I never trotted to first base. I don’t know if people noticed that. But I ran hard on every play. I always got that respect because I played it like it should be played.

“I was a five-tool player. I could do them all.”

The honor is posthumous for Allen, who passed away on Dec. 7, 2020, at the age of 78. He played 15 seasons from 1963 to ‘77 for five teams, compiling 351 homers, 1,119 RBI and a .292 career batting average. He was named the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies and the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player while with the Chicago White Sox.

A seven-time All-Star, Allen led his league three times each in slugging percentage and extra-base hits, and he topped the league in OPS four different times. A corner infielder and outfielder with the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox and Athletics, he hit 20 or more home runs in a season during nine consecutive years and 10 times overall.

The Classic Baseball Era Committee, which held its meeting at baseball’s Winter Meetings on Sunday, Dec. 8, in Dallas, considered a ballot of eight candidates chosen from eligible player, manager, executive and umpire candidates whose careers in baseball came primarily prior to 1980 and including Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues stars.

Allen and Parker will be joined as Class of 2025 inductees by any electees from the 2025 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election to be announced on January 21 live from Cooperstown at 6 p.m. ET. The 2025 Induction Weekend is scheduled for July 25-28, with the Induction on July 27.

Results of the Classic Baseball Era Ballot (12 votes needed for election): Dave Parker (14 votes, 87.5%); Dick Allen (13 votes, 81.3%); Tommy John (7 votes, 43.8%); Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris and Luis Tiant each received less than five votes.

The 16-member Hall of Fame Board-appointed electorate charged with the review of the Classic Baseball Era ballot was comprised of Hall of Fame members Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Pérez, Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith and Joe Torre; major league executives Sandy Alderson, Terry McGuirk, Dayton Moore, Arte Moreno and Brian Sabean; and veteran media members/historians Bob Elliott, Leslie Heaphy, Steve Hirdt, Dick Kaegel and Larry Lester. Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark served as the non-voting chairman of the Classic Baseball Era Committee.

Bill Francis is the senior research and writing specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum