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Bernard Keith Allen
Minnesota Twins
Second Base
Born: April 16, 1939, East Liverpool, OH
Signed: Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Minnesota Twins 1962-1966; Washington Senators 1967-1971; New York Yankees 1972-1973; Montreal Expos 1973
Bernie Allen was a two-sport star at Purdue University, twice being named the team MVP of the Boilermakers baseball team and serving as the quarterback for the football team and winning MVP honors there as well. Allen's big league baseball career began in 1962 with the Twins after only half a season in the minor leagues the year before. Allen peaked statistically his rookie season, reaching his career highs in the three triple crown categories with a .269 average, 12 home runs and 64 RBIs. He finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and was named the second baseman on the 1962 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Allen settled in after that as a reliable second baseman for the Twins and later the expansion Senators. He led all second baseman in fielding percentage in 1968 with a .991 mark.
Building the Set
June 19, 2021 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #318
Following our youngest son Ben's flawless performance of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy at his piano recital, our family headed to the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey to browse a real live baseball card show. Traditionally, I only venture into malls for baseball card shows and I can't honestly remember the last time, pre-pandemic, I had stepped foot into a mall. The show was small, hosted by S&B Sports Promotions, with about a dozen tables and not much vintage to offer, but it was a sight for sore eyes. It took us only about 15 minutes to scout the whole place out and I was lucky enough to find a friendly dealer with 1960s and 1970s Topps cards in great shape, in order and (best of all) reasonably priced. I took my time going through his 1965 Topps commons, settling on 29 cards we needed and adding a card from the star pile to give us 30 new cards total. I spent an even $100 (after a generous dealer discount) and this Allen card was about $2.
The Card / Twins Team Set
Allen is shown here demonstrating his bunting technique. The back of the card highlights his college football ties and the fact that Allen returned to Purdue to help coach football in the winter.
1965 Season
On June 13, 1964, Allen was fielding a throw at second base when the Senators' Don Zimmer (#233) collided into him, tearing ligaments in his knee. Allen tried to battle back later that summer, but ultimately had to have surgery in October during which he was told he'd probably never play baseball again. He worked his way back however, and was activated from the disabled list in June 1965. He'd appear in only 19 games for the Twins, batting .231, before the club demoted him to the Triple-A Denver Bears. With the Bears, Allen further rehabbed his repaired knee, appearing in 41 games and batting .246. After one more season with the Twins, Allen was dealt to the Senators on December 3, 1966 with pitcher Camilo Pascual (#255) for pitcher Ron Kline (#56).
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #596
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1962-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1973 Topps #293
56 - Allen non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/25/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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