Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen

by Dick Allen, Tim Whitaker

Traces the tumultuous career of a baseball superstar who has also seen his share of trouble--from ongoing wars with the baseball establishment to on-the-field brawls, to his experience as the first black player in Arkansas

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction

189 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most sports figures don't have revealing works about them, because they'd only reveal that there's not much to reveal. Relatively few humans are elite athletes and relatively few humans have interesting personalities, and there is no correlation between the two. But these qualities aren't mutually exclusive either, and some people are both.

Dick Allen was a fantastic baseball player. AND he was also smart, ornery, funny, opinionated, stubborn, moody, obsessed with his craft, and contingent on whether you gave him room to be himself, the best teammate one could have. He was all of those things and also a black baseball player, still a new concept in the 1960s and '70s, and some fans were decidedly not interested in a black player with a personality (or any black player, probably). He was also an on-again/off-again alcoholic. If he was too hungover, or just not in the mood, he might not show up to batting practice. Some of his managers weren't fans.

It's hard to know the whole truth about him, though this book makes a valiant attempt. Allen has co-authorship credit, as it's semi-autobiographical, but Tim Whitaker talked to numerous other people on his own to round out the story. What makes it an interesting read is that Allen isn't an especially reliable narrator. So it's hard to know how to interpret some of his more notorious incidents, but it's undeniably true he was frequently treated unfairly, particularly by the press. (It turns out sportswriters sometimes sacrifice nuance for sensationalism.)

PS On the whole I really like Dick Allen and am therefore willing to forgive his snotty comments about the American League's inferiority.

[Alex Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly didn’t know much about Dick Allen, and when I don’t know about someone, reading their auto-bio is the best way to get an understanding of them. Dick was a Phillies legend, a deserved hall of famer. He is raw, candid, and doesn’t mince words. I loved the book. It gives a snap shot into what it was like for a black baseball player playing in the sixties in Philadelphia. Hint, it wasn’t easy. His stories are engaging and interesting, especially if you are a Phillies fan. A must read!

[Aric Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book for the iconic Dick Allen but was truly surprised by how well crafted and written this biography is, there is a subtle travel/buddy story at the heart of this project.

“He wasn’t even dressed — he’s in a game jersey and his shower shoes. And I said ‘Dick, Chuck wants you to pinch hit.’ And he looked at me like I was a Martian. He said, ‘Tell him I’m eating a chili dog.’ And I said I’m not going to tell him that. So, he had spilled chili all over his front, right? So he had to get out of that.” -Whitesox Batboy right before Allen blasted a homer to win a tied game in cominsky. legend

[Jeff Bobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in Dick Allen's hometown and played on the same field he did there in Wampum, PA so really enjoyed this older look back and the chance to see his career through his own eyes.

Today Dick would be inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot but, in the area he played he got the bad boy reputation and had a difficult relationship with the baseball writers of his day.

This is his story, including the struggles and challenges he face both on and off the field. A reminder of how much the game has changed in the last half century.

[Scott Biggerstaff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't heard of Dick Allen until Jim Kaat spoke about him at the hall of fame induction ceremony this past summer. Kaat, whose career spanned 2.5 decades and 5 teams, said Allen was the best player he'd ever taken the field with. Allen got a bad rap from sports writers and the city of Philadelphia early on in his career, and a lot of the book is meant to provide the ballplayer a chance to set the record straight, or at least lend history his side of things. It's really thoughtfully written by a conscientious sports writer who grew up in Philly idolizing Allen as a player. I think the spirit of the book comes through in this quote from Allen: "I wonder how good I could have been...It could have been a joy, a celebration. Instead, I played angry. In baseball, if a couple of things go wrong for you, and those things get misperceived, or distorted, you get a label. After a while, the label becomes you, and you become the label, whether that's really you or not. I was labeled an outlaw, and after a while that's what I became."

[Chris Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve wanted to read this book for some time, especially since it currently is out of print. I’ve read several different reviews and opinions on this book and unfortunately, I wish that I did not. I feel that some of the reviewers (not necessarily on this site) took this book to a level that I felt didn’t reach. It didn’t take away from my enjoyment whatsoever, but I was left wondering what the hullabaloo was all about. Maybe I missed it the first time when the book was released. That being said, though, I love Dick Allen.

[Dan Ream · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting autobiography composed as a series of interviews over several years in the late 1980s and then edited into a chronological sequence of Dick Allen’s life from childhood to his post-retirement from baseball. Allen is candid about fellow players he liked and disliked and the difficulties he had playing in Philadelphia in the 1960s , when he was their best player , but nonetheless often booed by the fans there.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but very interesting book. A great player with an interesting career. I found most intriguing the part where Schmidt and Ashburn recruit Dick and Ashburn explains his epiphany on race. Fascinating

[Tom Roby · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important look at the life of a should-be Hall-of-Famer, in his own words and from the perspective of the writer who spent two years with him in the late 1980s.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is always interesting to learn how much in common (not including athletic talent) that I share with people whom I initially disliked. I almost abandoned twenty years of St. Louis Cardinal fandom when they acquired Dick Allen in 1970. Then I learned of his love of horses and read some comments about his relationship with them. Just that told me there was much more to the man than I had appreciated.

I then heard a radio interview with Allen in the late 1980's that really brought home to me how seriously I failed to appreciate this complex man. Quite recently, I heard him interviewed on the MLB network and came away even more favorably impressed with his depth and the growth in perspective he has achieved over the years. He was even able to overcome the presence of the oleaginous Bob Costas, who was purportedly conducting the interview.

The book was almost certainly written before the radio interview. Although this book is much too self-serving and his co-author doesn't seem to have known a lot about baseball at the time the book was written, it also shows Allen to be a man of considerable intelligence and that there was a lot more to his experiences than the press had the discipline and integrity to describe.

[Paul Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a kid, I caught the end of Dick Allen's baseball career - he was the incredible talent that was just 'out there', so had moved from team to team. I wondered how much of this was racism, alcohol abuse (rumor that always dogged him), ... no doubt the late 60's and 70's were a very different time in baseball. After reading this quick (authorized) bio, I can say that those things did contribute, but in the end, the guy's just an extreme narcissist! Remarkable to me to hear how he still thinks it was perfectly reasonable to leave the team during the season when he needs to, not show up to practice, not be in contact with the team in any way when he's injured ('I heal best when I heal myself!'). Jeez.

If you think the entire world should have to adapt to whatever your whims are day after day, you will like this guy. For your sake, I hope you have some amazing ability so people will be put up with you, as they did with Allen most of the time.

Great read for fans of early 70's baseball. For the rest of you... no need.

[Jeff Loxterkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had first heard of Dick Allen when he was traded to my beloved St. Louis Cardinals in 1970,(wich ignighted Curt Floods's Supreme Court challengs of Major League Baseball's Reserve Clause) when I was 10 years old. He immediately became my favorite athlete, just barely surpassing Bob Gibson, to this day. He was the coolest. Ofcourse at times he was his own worst enemy, which he freely admits. But to withstand the racist taunts of white bigot fans and their thrown objects throughout his career and still put up Hall Of Fame statistics is awe inspiring. That he is barely mentioned as a possibility in yearly Hall Of Fame inclusion is yet another example of society's inherent racism. Just because he spoke his mind once in awhile.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interviewed the two authors of this one, and having talked to Allen led Mike Schmidt to agree to talk to me too when he didn't want to otherwise, "I'll give you good shit"