Phillies great Dick Allen, one of the most controversial players in the history of baseball, died Monday, prompting a wave of nostalgia for a man Philadelphia fans demonized and drove out of town during the racially charged 1960s. During his playing days, Allen’s many interests outside the game drew accusations that he lacked “focus.” So when Allen formed a doo-wop singing group in 1968, toward the end of his first stint in Philadelphia, it was treated with eye rolls by the sporting press.
The group, the Ebonistics, performed in nightclubs around the city and cut a 45 with Groovey Grooves records. The song was a throwback to the ’50s, but the surprise is Allen’s gentle tenor singing voice, not exactly what you’d expect from a fearsome slugger. Allen and his group also performed at halftime of a 76ers game, a performance briefly reviewed in the Inquirer, in a passage that gives an idea of the city’s love-hate relationship with the team’s best player:
Here came Rich Allen. Flowered shirt. Tie six-inches wide. Hiphugger bell-bottomed pants. A microphone in his hands. 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. They cheered him as warmly as they have ever cheered him for a game winning home run.
Philadelphia was no stranger to its sports heroes cutting records. In January 1960, basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain went into the studio and cut a single. This was the B-side.
