Sunday, October 19, 2014

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #10: 1972 DICK ALLEN

Let's go and give the eventual American Most Valuable Player in 1972 an "In Action" card: Dick "Rich" Allen.
Take a look:


When the '72 set was unveiled to children's grubby little hands throughout America, Allen was still being called "Rich" on his cards.
However, upon arriving on the South Side of Chicago, he would thereafter be known by his preferred name, Dick, which is what he always wanted according to his autobiography.
So I had his name adjusted accordingly here.
Simply put, Allen had it all going on in 1972, just missing out on the Triple Crown while leading the Junior Circuit in homers with 37 and runs batted in with 113, as well as walks (99), on-base-percentage (.420) and slugging (.603).
And let's not forget that although you'd think otherwise, he chipped in with 19 stolen bases and five triples!
He was just on fire.
Needless to say he ran away with the M.V.P. voting that year, finishing about 160 points ahead of runner-up Joe Rudi of the Oakland A's.
I've already mentioned on more than one occasion how much I love Dick Allen, and I'll always try coming up with any reason to create a new card for the "Wampum Walloper", so keep an eye out for more of them in the future...