For me, and baseball lovers from Philly just like me, Allen was life-altering. After a nearly 50-year wait, he was immortalized in the Hall.

The former University of Alabama player and coach was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 after being chosen for enshrinement by the Veterans Committee. A .312 career hitter, the Wetumpka High School alumnus is the hardest player to strike out in baseball history, once going 115 consecutive games without striking out.

Dave Parker's Hall of Fame plaque reads, "Superstar outfielder delivered on the confidence he brought to the ballpark."

Tom Hamilton joined Jimmy Dudley and Jack Graney in representing Cleveland as winners of the Ford C. Frick Award.

Billy Wagner wore three lapel pins on his dark navy suit during Sunday’s National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a symbolic gesture for his journey from poverty in rural southwest Virginia to baseball’s hallowed halls.

All-Star right fielder and Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. But even as Ichiro was awarded the honor alongside CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, it was his speech that stole the show.

Both Hall of Famers were elected last December by the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Allen passed away in 2020 and Parker died this June 28.