William "Bill" Miller Allen (7 July 1889 – 13 November 1948) was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played for Melbourne

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Allen was a ruckman

Ruckman (Australian rules football position)

In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...

 and played during a dour period for the club. He was with Melbourne from 1910 to 1923 but missed the 1916, 1917 and 1918 seasons due to the war. During the summer of 1914/15 he played a couple of first class cricket matches for Victoria

Victorian Bushrangers

The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...

 in the Sheffield Shield.