Allen was a high school baseball and basketball star in western Pennsylvania, and was signed by the Phillies in 1960. (The team also signed his brother Hank the same year. Hank would go on to play outfield for the Washington Senators, among others.)
Dick began his minor-league career as a 2nd baseman, and switched to outfield in 1962. After a 2nd full season as an outfielder, he made his major-league debut on September 3rd for the Phillies. Allen played 10 games for the Phillies that season.
Allen moved to 3rd base at the start of 1964, having never played there professionally (except for 1 inning the previous September). He started every game at 3rd in his rookie season, and won the NL Rookie of the Year award. He also led the league in runs, triples, and strikeouts, while hitting 29 homers and collecting 91 RBI. Dick also started 160 games at 3rd base in 1965. Although his home run output dropped to 20, he made his first of 3 consecutive all-star appearances.
1966 started to break up the routine. Allen started 91 games at 3rd base, but (never a great defensive player) also played 47 games in left field. He played 20 fewer games than in 1965, but doubled his home run output with 40 dingers. Dick also led the NL with a .632 slugging percentage. In 1967 he was back exclusively at 3rd, that is, until he sliced up his wrist and missed the last 6 weeks of the season.
Allen returned to full-time status in '68, but this time as the Phillies' left fielder. Only 10 of his 150 games were at his former position. Although he hit 30 homers, his batting average fell to .263, after batting over .300 in his first 4 seasons. He wouldn't finish above .300 until moving to Chicago in 1972.
Because of his defensive liabilities, he moved to 1st base for the 1969 season. That year he also missed a month in mid-season while suspended by the team. Over the years, Allen's relationship with Phillies' management (and fans) deteriorated, and it contributed to the firing of the manager in both 1968 and 1969, and culminated in his trade to the Cardinals after the 1969 season. The Cardinals acquired Allen, 2nd baseman Cookie Rojas, and pitcher Jerry Johnson for relief pitcher Joe Hoerner, catcher Tim McCarver, and outfielders Curt Flood and Byron Browne. Famously, Flood refused to report to the Phillies.
After a stopover in Los Angeles, Allen was traded to the White Sox, where he won the AL MVP award in 1972, while also leading the league in home runs and RBI, and finishing 3rd with a .308 batting average. He also made the all-star team in all three of his seasons with the Sox.
Allen returned to the Phillies midway through the 1975 season, after holding out for several months. In 1976 his bat helped propel them to their first post-season appearance since 1950. Another disagreement with management sent him on his way after the season, this time to Oakland, where he started 50 of the first 61 games at 1st base before the team released him in mid-June.
6/16/2012 EDIT: Here's an excerpt from Allen's Wikipedia page that I just found. It's a quote from the Philadelphia Inquirer, reviewing a concert that Allen and his musical group had during halftime at a 76ers game in the mid-1960s:
Rich Allen, the most booed man in Philadelphia from April to October, when Eagles coach Joe Kuharich takes over, walked out in front of 9,557 people at the Spectrum last night to sing with his group, The Ebonistics, and a most predictable thing happened. He was booed. Two songs later though, a most unpredictable thing happened. They cheered Rich Allen.
Joe Kuharich - LOL!
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