Hank Allen (#426)

Hank Allen is the older brother of Phillies and White Sox slugger Dick Allen. Dick, Hank, and their younger brother Ron all came up through the Phillies’ farm system.

Hank was signed by the Phillies in 1960, and played in their organization for 5 years, mostly at 1st base but also some time in the outfield. After clubbing 25 and 37 homers in ’61 and ’62 (playing Class B, C, and D ball), he was promoted to single-A Miami in 1963.

Allen only managed 6 homers in 1963 and 12 homers at double-A Chattanooga in 1964. It seems the Phillies may have soured on his power outage, and sold him to the Senators before the 1965 season.

Hank’s power returned somewhat with the change of scenery (23 homers at AAA Hawaii in 1966), and he made his major-league debut in September 1966.

In 1967 Allen split the center field job evenly with Fred Valentine and newcomer Ed Stroud. In 1968, rookie Del Unser started almost every game in center field, leaving little room in the crowded Senators’ outfield for Allen. He spent half that season in triple-A.

In 1969 Hank was back with the Senators full-time, splitting the right field job with Stroud and Lee Maye. Allen was 3rd among the outfielders in innings played (behind Frank Howard and Unser).

In May 1970 Allen was traded to the Brewers for outfielder Wayne Comer, but spent most of that year in the minors. After the season he was flipped to the Braves for veteran catcher Bob Tillman, but was released in April 1971 and played in the minors that year.

Hank was out of baseball for most of 1972, then was signed by the White Sox when rosters expanded on September 1st. He provided bench depth for the remainder of that year and all of 1973.

In 1974 he played briefly for the Padres’ AAA team in Hawaii, where he had played for most of 1966 as a Senators’ farmhand.

After his playing career Hank became a Thoroughbred horse trainer, and more recently worked as a scout for the Astros.