NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 HANK ALLEN

Here’s a fun card to add to the 1974 “not so missing” line-up, a card for former Chicago White Sox infielder Hank Allen, one of the Allen brothers that included Ron and former A.L. MVP and N.L. Rookie of the Year Dick (Richie):

For Hank, turns out he wrapped up a seven year stint in the Majors with 28 games during the 1973 season, batting .103 with four hits over 39 at-bats while playing both third and first base.
He made his debut with the Washington Senators in 1966, never really playing full-time throughout his career with a high of 116 appearances in 1967.
By the time he retired he finished with a .241 career average, with 212 hits in 881 at-bats, with six homers, 104 runs scored and 57 runs batted in over 389 games.
I’ll always remember Hank as the very first 1970 card I ever got, this as a ten-year-old at a neighborhood antique store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in 1979, as I was JUST getting into “vintage” cards, leading to this life-long obsession. I paid a quarter for both his and a Jack Aker card.
I was especially psyched about the Allen card because it was my first Washington Senators card, something that cemented the baseball “nerd” tag my friends were already killing me with back then.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 HANK ALLEN

Today we have a “not so missing” 1973 card for former Chicago White Sox outfielder Hank Allen, who got to see his brother Dick have a monster of an MVP season in 1972, even if Hank appeared in only nine games that year:

Hank collected three hits over 21 at-bats over that time as he made it back to the Big Leagues after a 1971 season spent in the Minors.
He’d go on to play in what turned out to be the last 28 games of his career in 1973 before a handful of games in the San Diego system in 1974, retiring for good thereafter.
Originally up with the Washington Senators in 1966, he’d play the bulk of his career with them before a short stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in their inaugural season of 1970.
All told, Allen played seven seasons in the Big League sun, hitting .241 with 212 hits over 881 at-bats in 389 games, scoring 104 runs while driving in 57.
Besides his brother Dick, there was also brother Ron, giving the Allens that rare three-brother trio suiting up for a Major League team.

BASEBALL BROTHERS- DICK, HANK AND RON ALLEN

The next “Baseball Brothers” card in my on-going sub-set through the 1970’s are the Allen brothers, Dick, Hank and Ron, who all made it to the “Big Show”, with Dick of course leading the way as a bonafide star:

Dick, then known as “Richie”, made it to the Majors first and made an immediate impact, winning the National league Rookie of the Year Award with one of the all-time rookie campaigns, hitting .318 with a league-leading 125 runs scored and 13 triples, with 38 doubles, 29 homers and 91 runs batted in.
He’d go on to play 15-years while picking up an American League MVP Award (just missing a Triple Crown title), along with seven all-star nods.
He would top 30 homers six times, leading the league twice with 37 and 32 respectively in 1972 and 1974 while with the Chicago White Sox.
Though the oldest of the trio, Hank made it to the big league in 1966 and put together a seven year career playing for the Washington Senators, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox along with Dick.
Never a full-time player, he’d finish with a .241 batting average along with 212 hits in 881 at-bats in 389 games.
It’s worth noting that once drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies, he tore up the minor league system between 1960 and 1966, knocking in 100+ runs three times and topping 20 homers three times, with a high of 37 in 1962 along with 140 RBI’s.
The youngest of the three Allen brothers, Ron just had a cup of coffee in the Majors in 1972, playing seven games with the St. Louis Cardinals during the month of August and hitting a home run for his only hit.
I don’t know why, but 1972 would be his final season as a pro Majors or Minors, and I wonder why since he was only 28 at the time. Would love to know more about him and what happened, if anything.
Nevertheless I'm always amazed when two brothers, let alone THREE or more, make the Major Leagues or any other pro sport. Awesome.