1973 Baseball Digest crossword challenge

Time for a fun challenge...

Here is a crossword puzzle from a 1973 Baseball Digest featuring my man Dick Allen.

I have the questions and blank puzzle linked here in a PDF file if you want to download it.

I will post each question on my Facebook page until we finish it.

Like DAHoF on Facebook to join in.

Sunday Reds

Call me biased... but those Sunday red White Sox uniforms sure do look great!

1979 Topps Dick Allen - Phillies

DA Legacy Card using the 1979 Topps design

On this day... another one-hitter for Lefty

April 26th, 1980 at Veterans Stadium. Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons singles to left to lead off the second inning, but that was all Phils lefty ace Steve Carlton would allow. It was Lefty's his sixth career one-hitter, establishing a National League record.

Pinch hitter extraordinaire Del Unser delivers a 2 RBI triple and scores on a bad throw to break the 0-0 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Phils score 4 more runs in the eighth inning and cruise to a 7-0 win.

Carlton would go on to win the 1980 Cy Young award (his 3rd of 4 career Cy Young trophies) and lead the Phils to the World Series title. He would never throw a no-hitter in his extraordinary hall of fame career.

On this day... Rick Monday becomes an American Hero

April 25th, 1976 at Dodger Stadium. During the fourth inning Cubs outfielder Rick Monday becomes a national hero when he takes away an American Flag about to be set on fire by the two trespassers (a father and son) in the outfield. The Dodgers win the game 5-4 in 10 innings. Rick Monday served six years in the Marine Reserves, will be presented the flag a month later in a pre-game ceremony at Wrigley Field by Dodgers executive Al Campanis as a gesture of patriotic thanks. Rick Monday is traded to the Dodgers for the 1977 season and remained in LA for the rest of his career. Monday is still in possession of the flag he rescued... he has had offers to sell it (for up to $1 million) but has declined all offers.

On this day.... Utley's grand debut

April, 24 2003 the Colorado Rockies at Veteran's Stadium. Phillies rookie second baseman Chase Utley, in his first major league start, collects his first major league hit, launching a 3rd inning Aaron Cook offering for grand slam. The Phillies won 9-1.

On this day... Double dipping at Shea

On this day in 1967.... Dick Allen homers in both ends of a doubleheader in New York against the Mets.

In Game #1 he got Don Shaw and in Game #2 he got Bill Denehey.

The Phils won both games.

1980 Topps Dick Allen - Cardinals

DA Legacy Card using the 1980 Topps design

I colorized this image from the original B&W shot

1981 Topps Dick Allen - Dodgers

DA Legacy Card using the 1981 Topps design

1982 Topps Dick Allen - Rangers

Throwing everyone a curve ball today, using the 1982 design and a rare image from the spring of 1982 DA was a hitting instructor for the Texas Rangers

Big Brother Hank

In addition to looking very stylish in their "new" red Sunday uniforms, the Chicago White Sox celebrated Jackie Robinson Day with everyone wearing #42.



Little did anyone know they were also one day off from celebrating another #42.... Saturday was the 39th anniversary of Hank Allen initial appearance in what would be his final and full pension earning big league season (1973).

1983 Topps Dick Allen - White Sox

DA Legacy Card using the 1983 Topps design

Jackie Robinson Day 2012

Yesterday was the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut.

1984 Topps Dick Allen - White Sox

DA Legacy Card using the 1984 Topps design

1985 Topps Dick Allen - Phillies

DA Legacy Card using the 1985 Topps design

I colorized this from the original B&W picture.

On this day... it is raining Reggie bars

April 13th, 1978. It was Opening Day at Yankee Stadium and the Chicago White Sox were in town. Reggie Jackson is the toast of the town fresh off his three HR performance to end the 1977 World Series. In his first AB, Reggie hits three-run homer off of Wilbur Wood, his fourth consecutive round-tripper at Yankee Stadium. The game is delayed as the crowd celebrates by showering the field with the Reggie! Bars given to every fan entering the game. Reggie grounded out in his next plate appearance. The Yankees won 4-2.

Pete Broberg meets... Dick Allen

Thanks to reader JFK19142 for bringing up this:

Somewhere you have to find and post the Dick Allen / Pete Broberg at bat as told by Toby Harrah

Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I found this 2009 Baseball Prospectus interview with Toby Harrah:

What I remember about Pete Broberg is that we were playing a game at Comiskey Park, and Richie Allen was hitting. Broberg was wild a lot inside, and he threw a ball that looked like it was going to hit Richie Allen in the head. At the time, I think he liked to be called Dick. It was, "Don't call me Richie, call me Dick." But anyway, it looked that ball was going to hit him right in the head, but somehow Dick Allen got out of the way of that ball. His helmet went straight up and his head went straight down, and the ball went between his helmet and his head. Dick got up, and he has his glasses on, and he didn't do anything. He acted like nothing happened, really. The next pitch Broberg threw, he hit the ball to dead center field in the upper deck like there was nothing to it. He just went around the bases and back into the dugout, and I said to myself, "There goes a man right there." It was amazing.

The story has to be from the 8th inning of the game played on September 24, 1972. It was his final HR of that 1972 MVP season and the only time in his career DA took Broberg deep.

1986 Topps Dick Allen - Phillies

DA Legacy Card using the 1986 Topps design

On this day... Allen shows he is in charge

April 12th, 1965. The Phillies visit the newly renamed Houston Astros to help open their new Astrodome. In the top of the third inning, Dick (then known as Richie) Allen blasts a home run to centerfield driving in the only two runs of the game. It was the first home run ever hit (during a regular season game) in the dome. Phils starter Chris Short goes the distance for the 2-0 shutout win.

According to to the newspaper report, Astros starter Bob Bruce knocked Allen down earlier in the plate appearance with a high inside pitch. After the game, the reigning NL rookie of the year said:

"When that happens. you just have to show who's in charge, him or me"

Note: This article was taken from the Gettysburg (PA) Times. I find it interesting the local press focuses the title of the article on a meaningless error. The rest of the national news reports focused on the actual important part of to the game.

1987 Topps Dick Allen - Athletics

DA Legacy Card using the 1987 Topps design

Jackie gets the call

April 10th, 1947. At Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, during the sixth inning of an exhibition game against their minor league team from Montreal. Dodgers' president Branch Rickey issues a two sentence statement to the press which will forever change the game. It reads:

The Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased the contract of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson from the Montreal Royals. He will report immediately.

On this day.... The Vet comes alive

On April 10, 1971 the city of Philadelphia proudly opened Veterans Stadium. It was a long time coming... as early as December 1969, the Phillies expected that they would play the first month of the 1970 season at old Connie Mack Stadium before moving to the new venue. However, the opening was delayed a year because of a combination of bad weather and cost overruns.

Despite temperatures in the low 40s, a crowd of 55,352, the largest in the history of Pennsylvania ever to watch a baseball game enjoy the hometown Phillies' 4-1 victory over the Montreal Expos. Future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning starts and throws the first pitch to Expos lead-off hitter Boots Day. Day grounds the ball back to Bunning and first baseman Deron Johnson records the the first putout. In the bottom of the first, Phils shortstop Larry Bowa leads off with a single to right field for the first ever hit in the new venue. In the bottom of the sixth, Phils third baseman Don Money deposits a Bill Stoneman pitch into the stands for the first ever home run. I have linked a complete list of all the "firsts" at The Vet.

1971 would be the last in the majors for Jim Bunning. Larry Bowa would go on to play another 11 seasons in South Philly and later return to manage the team as it closed the stadium in 2003. Don Money would be dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers in October 1972 to make room for a rookie named Mike Schmidt. Money would go on to make 4 AL All Star teams.

1988 Topps Dick Allen - Phillies

DA Legacy Card using the 1988 Topps design

On this day... Ray Kroc suffers with you

It was April 9th, 1974 The San Diego Padres are losing to the Houston Astros 9-2. In the middle of the 8th inning a frustrated Padres owner Ray Kroc addresses the fans "I suffer with you..." just as a streaker dashes across the field.

"Hey.... get that streaker out of here... throw him in jail..."

Kroc finishes with a flurry, blasting his team "I've never seen such stupid ball playing in my life..."

Inspired or angered by the public blasting, the Padres score 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, including a Cito Gaston 2 RBI double... but still end up losing 9-5.

1989 Topps Dick Allen - Phillies

DA Legacy Card using the 1989 Topps design

On this day... Hank stands alone

On April 8, 1974, Henry Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715h career home run, eclipsing the mark of 714 set by the legendary Babe Ruth. Three broadcasts exist of that moment - by Curt Gowdy on NBC TV, Milo Hamilton on the Braves radio network, and Vin Scully on the Dodgers radio network. This is how they called the moment.

Goosebumps.

1990 Topps Dick Allen - Cardinals

DA Legacy Card using the 1990 Topps design

Philadelphia Magazine

Loving the new April 2012 cover...

DAHOF Top 100 -- #1 Richard Anthony Allen

As if there was ever any doubt...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to the 2012 Baseball season.

DAHOF Top 100 -- #2 Richie Zisk

It is completely illogical for me to love Richie Zisk as much as I do. I have tried to quit him, but I just can't.

The man only played one season for a team I cared about. The only thing I can say is, I was 11 years old. The summer of 1977 shaped my love and passion for the game like no other before or since. The  excitement and magic generated by Zisk and his South-Side Hit-Men teammates was incredible. God Bless Bill Veeck for bringing him to Chicago for that summer.

PITCH AT RISK

TO RICHIE ZISK

DAHOF Top 100 -- #3 Mike Schmidt

Sprinting to the finish line, hoping to get to #1 before the first pitch is thrown today.

Mike Schmidt is the best player in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies. With all due respect to Brooks Robinson, he is the best overall third baseman in the history of the game. I had the great luck and distinct pleasure growing up and learning to love the game and this team with Mike Schmidt leading the way.

I still get goose-bumps when I hear a recording Harry Kalas tossing out a... "Michael Jack Schmidt" following one of his 548 home runs. He really should have had 549. On June 10, 1974 Mike Schmidt hit what is arguably the longest single in baseball history. He crushed a first inning Claude Osteen fastball off a speaker hanging from the roof at the Astrodome, measured some 329 feet from home plate and 117 feet in the air. Bowa & Cash were on 1st & 2nd and only advanced one base because everyone was caught admiring the blast.

Best memories: Of course the 1980 World Series celebration. Also, growing up in the Midwest the only chances I had to see Mike Schmidt play live was when the Phils came to Chicago. As it turned out, this was a good thing. He absolutely dominated when he came to Chicago, he blasted 50 home runs at Wrigley. On April 17, 1976 Schmidt his four home runs on consecutive at-bats against the Cubs. The Phils won 18-16. Two of those homers came off of the Reuschel brothers (Paul & Rick). On May 17, 1979 he pumped 2 over the vines helping the Phils to an memorable 23-22 win in 10 innings.

Finally (after he retired) Mike Schmidt was elected by the fan as the starter in the 1989 All Star Game. True to his total respect of the game, Schmidt showed up at the game and was introduced with his NL teammates to a resounding standing ovation... but refused to actually play in the game. He was retired. It was someone else's turn.

DAHOF Top 100 -- #4 Pete Rose

Jerry Seinfeld was right... We really do just root for laundry

On October 12th, 1976 I hated Pete Rose as much as any irrational 10 year old could hate another person. His 'Big Red Machine' had just brushed aside my beloved Phillies in a 3 game NLCS white-wash.

Fast forward 26 months, to December of 1978 and I loved Pete Rose as much as any irrational 12 year old could love another person. The same guy who had broken my heart in 1976 and collected hits in 44 straight games a few months earlier had agreed to play first base for my Phils.

Love him or hate him, it is hard not to have an opinion on Pete Rose. Because I have been on both sides of the coin with this guy, I try to believe that I can maintain an objective perspective. The truth is, I can't... I want him to be back in the game because he played for my laundry and helped deliver our first World Series.

Here is what I think:
1) Pete Rose is a gambling addict. Regardless of the type, addiction is a real disease. The league has substance abuse programs for players addicted to drugs and players addicted to alcohol. Why not gamblers?
2) Not all gambling is equal and not every bet should be given the same punishment. It is my opinion, what Pete Rose did is the exact opposite thing from what the 1919 Black Sox did. Pete Rose bet on his team to win, there is no evidence that he ever bet against his team. It isn't hard to conclude that Pete Rose didn't gamble because he wanted the money, he gambled because he loved the rush. The Black Sox got paid to lose, and threw games for cold hard cash. Apples and Oranges.
3) Professional athletes gamble for a living. They pit their athletic skills against another person for money. Regardless of the source of the cash, winning or losing can mean millions of dollars. Players who win, sign big contracts. Teams that win, fill stadiums. Owners that win, fill bank accounts. Let's stop pretending there isn't money on the table each and every night.
4) It took him a while, but Pete Rose finally admitted he bet on baseball. Why did he lie for all those years? Lots of reasons. To confess to the world the truth was essentially admitting he had an addiction. That not something easy for an ego-maniac like Pete Rose to do.

It has been 20+ years.... Enough is enough. It is time to let him back into the game.

DAHOF Top 100 -- #5 Jackie Robinson

This winter I finally got around to reading Roger Kahn's highy-acclaimed book: The Boys of Summer. It has been sitting on my shelf for years. I can't say I have ever enjoyed a book, let alone a baseball book more. The quality of Kahn's prose and the compelling stories from his Brooklyn Dodgers is unmatched.

Of course, the central character in the book ends up being Jackie Robinson. Although I am way too young to have ever enjoyed Jackie play baseball. However, I recognize his influence on the game and on this country. What he went through is hard to imagine, let alone describe. Jackie Robinson was a mountain of a man. His dominant characteristic, as an athlete and as a man, was his competitive flame. Outspoken, controversial, combative, he never deviated from his opinions or his goals. He was also a human being that made a difference.

In June of 1971, Jackie's oldest son Jack Roosevelt Robinson Jr. died in a car accident. At his funeral, Jackie's youngest son (David) wrote and read this:

He climbed high on the cliffs above the sea, and stripped bare his shoulders and raised his arms to the water, crying, 'I am a man. Give me my freedom so that I might dance naked in the moonlight and laugh with the stars and roll in the grass and drink in the warmth of the sun. Give me my freedom so I might fly.' But the armies of the seas continued to war with the wind and the wind raced the giants of stones and mocked his cries, and the man fell to his knees and wept.

He rose, and journeyed down the mountain to the valley and came upon the village. When the people saw him, they scored him for his naked shoulders and wild eyes and again he cried, 'I am a man. I seek the means of freedom.'

The people laughed, saying 'We see no chains on your arms. Go. You are free.' And they called him mad and drove him from their village... The man walked on, eyes red as a gladiator's sword, until he came to stream where he saw an image, face sunken in hunger, skin drawn tight around the body.

He stood fixed on the water's edge and began to weep, not from sorrow but from joy, for he saw beauty in the water. He removed his clothing and stood naked before the world and rose to his full height and smiled and moved to meet the figure in the water and the stream made love to his body and the majesty of his voice was heard about the roar of the sea and howl of the wind, and he was free.

When I was on my 8th grade basketball team I was assigned uniform #42. That night, I went home and did some research of the famous athletes that wore those same digits. That is how I first came to know and understand about Jackie Robinson. To this day, I have never worn another uniform with more pride than my first #42.

DAHOF Top 100 -- #6 Chase Utley

The Phillies open their 2012 season tomorrow in Pittsburgh... and Chase Utley will be in Arizona. I am trying to wrap my head around how this team is going to compete for the World Series without him. Last spring we knew he was going to be out, likely until May, but eventually he was going to return to the club. This spring, same problem but other knee. But somehow, this year things are different. He hasn't done any "baseball" activities since early March because of the deterioration of cartilage behind his kneecap. Officially the club is not even predicting when he will come back. Honestly, the real question now isn't "when" he will come back, but "if" he will come back. I can't believe I just typed that.

I've said many times this is the "Golden Era" of Phillies baseball. Never before has the club enjoyed such a prolonged period of success. Of the great players that have formed the nucleus of this special group, Chase Utley stands as my favorite. He is the heartbeat of this club. His gritty approach, quiet leadership and consistent production have established him as the greatest second baseman in the 130 year history of the franchise.

And then there is this moment.... WORLD FUCKING CHAMPIONS

If this is the end. If Chase Utley never returns to the field. It will be a very sad moment for me and many other Phillies fans. I hope it doesn't happen. Not this year.

DAHOF Top 100 -- #7 Carlton Fisk

On Tuesday night May 22nd, 1990 the Chicago White Sox were in the Bronx playing the New York Yankees. Deion Sanders was playing in his 24th career major league game. Carlton Fisk was logging his 2,172nd.

The Sox were winning 1-0 with one out in the third inning, Randy Velarde was on third base when Deion Sanders strolled to the plate. He turned Melido Perez's second pitch into weak pop fly towards the shortstop. Rather than run to first (the ball could have dropped for an error) Sanders showed the true character of his heart by trotting to the dugout. Yankee fans booed.

Fisk: Run the fucking ball out, you piece of shit...
Sanders: What? 
Fisk: Run the ball out.

Infuriated, Fisk stewed until Sanders came to the plate again to lead off the fifth inning "I made eye contact with him on purpose the next time he came up (in the fifth inning)," Fisk said. "He mumbled something and I said, 'What?' Then he said, 'The days of slavery are over.' I told him, 'There's a right way and a wrong way to play this game.'

Following the game Fisk was quoted:
"It's the Yankee pride and the Yankee pinstripes involved here, Some of those guys got to be turning over in their graves. Watch. He'll go out and play good now. And I hope he does. I play for the other team, but that even offends me. Now he comes up the second time and he wants to make it a racial issue. There's no racial issue involved. It's professional etiquette. There's something special about Yankee Stadium, and that's why I didn't talk about it (Tuesday) night. I might have said something I'd be sorry for. I'm either old and cynical or old and sentimental. Either way, I know what's right and what's wrong."

DAHOF Top 100 -- #8 Dave Henderson

The Mighty Oakland A's teams from the late 1980's were a awe inspiring combination of charisma, pitching, and (gulp!) chemical enhancements. For me, the speed of Rickey Henderson, the stare of Dave Stewart, the shut-down capability of Dennis Eckersley, and the power of Mark McGwire & Jose Canseco were all overshadowed by the smile of Dave Henderson.

I first became a fan of Hendu during his time with the Seattle Mariners. At the time, he was an obscure outfielder that played with an unique child-like joy. He burst on the national conscience during the 1986 post season, first when he crushed the souls of California Angel fans and next when he came within one strike of becoming the most beloved man in Red Sox history.

Nothing says it better for me than this 1991 Sports Illustrated article:

Dave Henderson's smile runs foul pole to foul pole. It has a gap in the middle as wide as the one between leftfield and center. It is an otherwise ordinary smile that Henderson has simply stretched into a double. It has, as we shall see, made the Oakland A's centerfielder beloved among people with bad seats everywhere, and it once got him traded out of Seattle. Smile, and the whole world—with the exception of former Mariners manager Dick Williams—smiles with you.

The best thing about Dave Henderson's smile, though, is that it is always there, hedged by the ever-changing topiary of his beard and mustache. He circles the bases after home runs as most people circle vacation dates on calendars, in garish and overlarge loops. He high-steps on tiptoes in pursuit of routine flyballs, as if barefoot on blacktop in July. "Playing professional baseball brings a smile to my face," he says. "I don't need much else to have a good time." Which is why, through it all, the smile is on. Always on, like Hendu himself.

DAHOF Top 100 -- #9 Frank Thomas

Slowly but surely working our way to #1. While preparing for this post, I read that Frank Thomas had two favorite players growing up: Dave Parker and Dave Winfield. That makes complete sense to me... both Parker and Winfield were man-sized ballplayers that could just as easily been playing in the NFL. If Big Frank had admired Freddie Patek or Harry Chappas, I might be a little surprised.

Undrafted out of high school Frank Thomas went to Auburn to play both football and baseball. He left the Tigers football team after his freshman year to concentrate on baseball. He was Auburn's first consensus All-America in 1989 after he hit a SEC-best .403. He was selected in the first round (seventh overall) by the White Sox in the 1989 Major League Baseball Free Agent Draft. He made his major-league debut with the Sox on August 2, 1990 at Milwaukee. Over his next 18 seasons he intimidated American League pitchers, collecting a .974 career OPS with 521 home runs and drove in 1,704 runs. He finished with an impressive 75.9 career WAR, which places him 64th in the history of the game.

A five-time American League All-Star, Thomas was just the 11th player in major-league history to win consecutive MVP awards (1993-94). He was a unanimous selection in 1993 after hitting .317 (174-549) with 36 doubles, 41 home runs and 128 RBI in 153 games when he led the White Sox to the AL Western Division championship and the team's first postseason appearance since 1983. In 1994, Thomas captured his second straight league honor by batting .353 (141-399) with 34 doubles, 38 home runs and 101 RBI over 113 games.

The White Sox retired the "Big Hurt's" uniform #35 in 2010. He is a member of the White Sox Team of the Century and the club's franchise leader in numerous offensive categories, including home runs (448), doubles (447), RBI (1,465), runs scored (1,327), extra-base hits (906), walks (1,466), total bases (3,949), slugging percentage (.568) and on-base percentage (.427).