After waiting nearly 30 years for the call, Dave Parker was overcome with emotion when he learned on Sunday that he had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, alongside the late Dick Allen.
“Yeah, I cried,” Parker admitted after receiving the news from Hall chair Jane Forbes Clark. “It only took a few minutes, because I don’t cry.”
Parker earned 14 out of 16 votes from the Classic Era Committee at the winter meetings, while Allen received 13 votes. A candidate needed at least 75% of the vote for induction.
Both will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on July 27, joining players elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, with their results to be announced on January 21.
Tommy John finished third with seven votes from the committee, which focused on players whose primary contributions were made before 1980. Ken Boyer, Steve Garvey, and Luis Tiant received fewer than five votes, as did Negro Leaguers John Donaldson and Vic Harris.
Parker, who celebrated his 73rd birthday in June, never received more than 24.5% of the vote during his 15 appearances on the BBWAA ballot between 1997 and 2011. Allen, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 78, reached a high of 18.9% on the BBWAA ballot from 1983 to 1997. Both players had also failed to gain enough support in several previous committee votes.
During a Zoom press conference, Parker, whose body was shaking due to Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2012, displayed the sharp wit that defined his 19-year career, which included two World Series titles. When asked if he ever saw himself as a Hall of Famer, Parker responded with one of his signature lines.
“Without a doubt. When the leaves turned brown, I’d be wearing the batting crown,” he said. “That was one of my sayings, so I always believed I was going to be a major leaguer. I told my mother when I was 8 years old that I would be a baseball star and one day buy her a house. Well, I did that in ’78. I made it happen.”
Nicknamed “The Cobra,” Parker had an impressive career, hitting .290 with 339 home runs and 1,493 RBIs while playing for teams like Pittsburgh (1973-83), Cincinnati (1984-87), Oakland (1988-89), Milwaukee (1990), California (1991), and Toronto (1991).
Since 2002, the Hall of Fame decides what team logo will appear on a player’s cap, and Parker joked, “I might have to split it up three ways.”
Parker won World Series titles in 1979 and 1989, was named the 1978 National League MVP, and earned batting titles in 1977 and 1978. He was a seven-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove right fielder.
“I was a five-tool player. I could do it all,” he said. “I never jogged to first base. I don’t know if people noticed, but I ran hard on every play.”
Parker also created a memorable moment in Pittsburgh when he had the Pirates wear T-shirts that read, “If you hear any noise, it’s just me and the boys boppin’.” The idea came after the team lost three out of four games following a 5-0 start in 1976. He told his teammates, “Don’t try to copyright it because it’s mine.”
In the 1989 World Series, Parker homered in the opener for the Oakland A’s and took pride in helping the team’s Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, win the title. “I taught them how to win,” Parker said. “They didn’t know how to win. They had all that thunder but didn’t know how to win.”
In 1977, Parker led all major league outfielders with 26 assists, finishing his career with 143. “I enjoyed throwing out players,” Parker said. “And if they kept running, I would hit them in the back of the head with the ball.”
Allen, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 78, was born in Wampum, Pennsylvania. He earned the nickname “The Wampum Whammer” and also “Crash” — a shortened form of “Crash Helmet,” which he got from wearing his helmet in the field to protect himself from the tough Philadelphia Phillies fans.
Allen played from 1963 to 1977, hitting .292 with 351 home runs and 1,119 RBIs. His career included time with the Philadelphia Phillies (1963-69, 1975-76), St. Louis Cardinals (1970), Los Angeles Dodgers (1971), Chicago White Sox (1972-74), and Oakland Athletics (1977).
Initially known as Richie Allen with the Phillies, he later asked to be called Dick for the rest of his career. Allen was a seven-time All-Star, the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year, and the 1972 American League MVP.