Even iconoclasts have birthdays

Dick Allen in 1969 during his last days in Philly

Happy birthday today to two of baseball's most iconic – and iconoclastic – players from the 1960s.

Longtime Philadelphia Phillies first baseman and enigma Dick Allen would have celebrated No. 82 if he were still with us, while former New York Yankees pitcher and the late tell-all-writer Jim Bouton would have turned 85.

Both of their books – Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen from 1989 and Ball Four by Bouton in 1971 – are must-reads.

Jim Bouton in retirement with his classic book, Ball Four