With Dick Allen about to be inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame, documentary nears completion
“My Father, Dick Allen” is an emotionally charged upcoming documentary that tells the unforgettable story of one of baseball’s most talented and misunderstood icons — Dick Allen — and the long, painful road to his long-overdue induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The film is expected to premiere in 2026.
The former White Sox first baseman will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend posthumously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut8EVyslrsIDirected by award-winning filmmaker Andy Billman (ESPN’s 30 for 30), the film offers an intimate, multi-dimensional portrait of Allen, a prodigious slugger known for his fiercely independent spirit and a seven-time All-Star who dominated baseball during the 1960s and ‘70s. The documentary unfolds through the eyes of his son, Richard Allen Jr., alongside candid interviews with Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins and Goose Gossage, and rarely heard voices including family, former teammates and friends, including Dusty Baker and Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero.
"Dick Allen was a simple man from the coal town of Wampum, Pennsylvania, who faced relentless adversity during the heat of the Civil Rights era — all while becoming a legend on the baseball field,” Billman said. “This film will show why Dick Allen is deserving of a place in the Hall of Fame, and how many — including his own son — considered him a hero."
Once labeled “difficult” by a racially hostile press, Allen was a pioneer who endured bigotry, death threats, and public scorn — particularly during his years as the first Black superstar of the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite a career that included Rookie of the Year honors, an MVP award with the White Sox, and statistics on par with the all-time greats, Allen was repeatedly snubbed by Hall of Fame voters — falling just one vote short in both 2014 and again heartbreakingly in 2021, one year after his death.
With unprecedented access and deeply personal storytelling, “My Father, Dick Allen” captures the Allen family’s decades-long fight for justice, culminating in Dick Allen’s emotional, posthumous election to Cooperstown in December 2024. The film traces Richard Jr.’s moving pilgrimage leading up to the 2025 induction ceremony, including revisits to key places in his father’s legacy — Little Rock, Arkansas; Chicago; and Allen’s hometown of Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Narrated by actor Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam, High Potential) and produced by a team that includes Dr. David J. Fletcher, John Owens, Sharon Pannozzo, Willa Allen, and Richard Allen Jr., the film weaves historic footage, personal recollections, and expert insights to paint a vivid picture of a man whose career and character challenged baseball’s status quo.
“My Father, Dick Allen” is not just a sports documentary — it is a story of resilience, injustice and redemption, spotlighting a player who refused to compromise his identity in a world that demanded it. More than four decades after his final game, Dick Allen is finally taking his rightful place among the immortals of the game.
“Now he’s going into the Hall,” says Richard Allen Jr. in the film. “Job well done.”