The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen

The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen

Historical Society of Montgomery County, 1654 DeKalb Street, Norristown, PA

Thursday, October 6, 2016, 5:00-6:30 p.m.

Free Program open to the public.

October marks the beginning of Major League baseball’s play-off season and we’re marking the month with a presentation on America’s pastime as Mitchel Nathanson looks at Philadelphia Phillies player Dick Allen.

The Wampum Walloper. Considered by some to be the best player not in the Hall of Fame and by others to be the most divisive and destructive force in the game, Dick Allen’s raw stats place him on the doorstep of the Hall of Fame. He was the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year and the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player. But, his relatively short career was also marked by his off-field theatrics. Nathanson examines some of the off-field issues and the perceptions and conclusions that grew from them and which may have kept Allen out of the Hall of Fame. Nathanson looks at the complex issues of Allen’s life and legacy. Dick Allen will once again be considered for enshrinement in Cooperstown in 2017.

Mitch Nathanson, Professor of Law and professor in the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at the Villanova University School of Law, focuses in his scholarship on the intersection of sports, law and society. He has written numerous articles examining the interplay between baseball and American culture. He has lectured at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and since 2011 has been a Guest Professor in the International Sports Law Program at the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economia in Madrid, Spain.

Historical Society of Montgomery County, 1654 DeKalb Street, Norristown, PA, 610-272-0297

http://www.hsmcpa.org