Marcus Allen
Encyclopedia
Marcus LeMarr Allen is a former American football
player and, until recently, was affiliated with CBS
as a game analyst. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,412 yards during his career for both the Los Angeles Raiders
and the Kansas City Chiefs
from 1982 to 1997. He scored 145 touchdown
s, including a then league record 123 rushing touchdowns, and was elected to six Pro Bowl
s over the course of his career. He was also a fairly good passer for a running back, completing 12 of 27 passes for 285 yards and six touchdowns, with only one interception. Allen was the first player ever to gain more than 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards during his career.
Allen is considered as one of the greatest goal line and short-yard runners in National Football League
(NFL) history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2003. His younger brother, Damon Allen
, played quarterback for 23 seasons in the Canadian Football League
and was professional football's all-time leader in passing yards.
Allen is a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy
.
and safety positions.
Allen played running back at the University of Southern California from 1978 to 1981. He was recruited as a defensive back, but head coach John Robinson switched him to tailback. Allen spent his first season at USC as a backup to Heisman Trophy
winning running back Charles White
. In 1979, he was moved to fullback. Eventually, in 1980, Allen became the starter at tailback and rushed for 1,563 yards, the second-most in the nation that year. In 1981, Allen had one of the most spectacular seasons in NCAA history, rushing for 2,342 yards, becoming the first player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards in one season, passing the 2,000 yard mark in a loss to Washington. He also gained a total of 2,683 offensive yards, led the nation in scoring, and won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award
, and Walter Camp Award
. He was also the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Allen shares the NCAA
record for most 200-yard rushing games with Ricky Williams
and Ron Dayne
, each completing the feat twelve times.
USC has retired his jersey number (33), and coach Robinson has called Allen, "the greatest player I ever saw." On December 14, 2006, Allen hosted the USC Football Awards banquet at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
by the Los Angeles Raiders
. In a recent ad on NFL Network, Allen recalls shortly before being drafted that the Raiders asked him his weight at the time(he answered 200 or 212) and then drafted him soon after. Though his rookie season was shortened by a league strike, Allen rushed for 697 yards and led the Raiders to the best record in the AFC
at 8-1. He was voted the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
. The Raiders would lose to the New York Jets
in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
The next season, Allen broke the 1,000-yard mark for the first time, an accomplishment he would repeat the two following years. During the 1985 season
, he rushed for 1,759 yards and scored 11 touchdowns on 380 carries, leading the Raiders to a 12-4 record and the AFC West Division Championship. In addition, Allen was named the NFL MVP.
Allen may be best remembered for his heroics in Super Bowl XVIII
January 22, 1984 as he ran for 191 yards, caught two passes for 18 yards, and scored two touchdowns in the Raiders 38-9 victory over the Washington Redskins
. Included in his stats was a 74-yard touchdown run, a feat that remained the longest run in Super Bowl
history until Super Bowl XL
when Willie Parker
of the Pittsburgh Steelers
broke the record by a single yard. Allen's 191 rushing yards were also a Super Bowl record, which stood until Timmy Smith
of the Redskins
topped it with 204 yards in Super Bowl XXII
. Upon winning the game, Allen joined an elite group of players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP (Roger Staubach
, Jim Plunkett
, Desmond Howard
). Moreover, Allen put together one of the greatest postseasons ever by a NFL running back. On January 1, 1984, Allen gained 121 yards for two touchdowns on just 13 carries against the Pittsburgh Steelers. One week later, Allen rushed 25 times for 154 yards and scored on a touchdown reception. In total, Allen rushed 58 times for 466 yards and four touchdowns during the playoffs. He also added 118 yards and one touchdown on 14 receptions.
In future seasons with the Raiders, Allen formed a stormy relationship with owner Al Davis
stemming from a contract dispute where Davis referred to Allen as a "cancer to the team." He also missed most of the 1989 season
with a knee injury. Allen was relegated to back-up duty in his final three seasons with the Raiders and, at one time, fell to fourth on the depth chart. Allen's strained relationship with Davis reached an all-time low in December 1992. During halftime of the Raiders-Dolphins
game on Monday Night Football
, a taped interview between Al Michaels
and Allen was broadcast, with Allen stating that Davis "told me he was going to get me." Allen further stated, "I think he's [Davis] tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me. He's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame. They don't want me to play."
Allen eventually left Los Angeles and joined the Kansas City Chiefs
in 1993
. Although he only rushed for 764 yards that year, he scored 12 touchdowns, leading the AFC, as he and Joe Montana
led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game. As a result, Allen was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Allen went on to play for the Chiefs for four more seasons, leading the team in rushing every year but his last. Allen's main contribution to the Chiefs was his leadership. The Chiefs won more games than any other NFL team during his tenure in Kansas City. Allen made many contributions to charitable causes off the field in Kansas City, while also hosting his own talk show on Sunday mornings before Chiefs games.
Allen retired after the 1997 season
. In 1999, he was ranked 72nd on The Sporting News
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Allen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2003.
In 1999, Allen was also inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions
, Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/football/marcus-allen/
In 2008, Marcus Allen joined as a spokesman for the sports website OPENSports.com, the brainchild of Mike Levy
, founder and former CEO of CBS Sportsline.com. Allen wrote a blog and occasionally answered member questions for the company during this time.
In 2011, Marcus Allen led the RioCan Wrecking Crew to a 2-1 record in the Strike out Cancer Baseball Tournament.
NFL Records:
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and, until recently, was affiliated with CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
as a game analyst. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,412 yards during his career for both the Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
from 1982 to 1997. He scored 145 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s, including a then league record 123 rushing touchdowns, and was elected to six Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s over the course of his career. He was also a fairly good passer for a running back, completing 12 of 27 passes for 285 yards and six touchdowns, with only one interception. Allen was the first player ever to gain more than 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards during his career.
Allen is considered as one of the greatest goal line and short-yard runners in National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 2003. His younger brother, Damon Allen
Damon Allen
Damon Allen is a former professional quarterback in the Canadian Football League, most recently with the Toronto Argonauts. He is currently second in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he was surpassed for first place by the Montréal...
, played quarterback for 23 seasons in the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
and was professional football's all-time leader in passing yards.
Allen is a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy
Laureus World Sports Awards
The Laureus World Sports Awards are awarded annually to sportspeople who have been outstanding during the previous year. The Laureus World Sports Awards were established in 1999 by Founding Patrons Daimler and Richemont and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and...
.
High school & college
Allen played football at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Diego, California, where he played the quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and safety positions.
Allen played running back at the University of Southern California from 1978 to 1981. He was recruited as a defensive back, but head coach John Robinson switched him to tailback. Allen spent his first season at USC as a backup to Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winning running back Charles White
Charles White (American football)
Charles White is a former professional American football running back. He had a distinguished college career and later played in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Rams.-College football:...
. In 1979, he was moved to fullback. Eventually, in 1980, Allen became the starter at tailback and rushed for 1,563 yards, the second-most in the nation that year. In 1981, Allen had one of the most spectacular seasons in NCAA history, rushing for 2,342 yards, becoming the first player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards in one season, passing the 2,000 yard mark in a loss to Washington. He also gained a total of 2,683 offensive yards, led the nation in scoring, and won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
, and Walter Camp Award
Walter Camp Award
The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation;...
. He was also the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Allen shares the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
record for most 200-yard rushing games with Ricky Williams
Ricky Williams
Errick Lynne "Ricky" Williams, Jr. is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft...
and Ron Dayne
Ron Dayne
Ron Dayne is a former American football running back who is currently a free agent. He holds the NCAA record for career rushing yards, and he won the 1999 Heisman Trophy.-Early life:...
, each completing the feat twelve times.
USC has retired his jersey number (33), and coach Robinson has called Allen, "the greatest player I ever saw." On December 14, 2006, Allen hosted the USC Football Awards banquet at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
NFL career
Allen was drafted with the 10th overall selection of the 1982 NFL Draft1982 NFL Draft
The 1982 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982...
by the Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. In a recent ad on NFL Network, Allen recalls shortly before being drafted that the Raiders asked him his weight at the time(he answered 200 or 212) and then drafted him soon after. Though his rookie season was shortened by a league strike, Allen rushed for 697 yards and led the Raiders to the best record in the AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
at 8-1. He was voted the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
NFL Rookie of the Year Award
Since 1967, the Associated Press has given two annual Rookie of the Year Awards to National Football League players: one for an offensive player and one for a defensive player. These two are often regarded as the "official" awards...
. The Raiders would lose to the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
The next season, Allen broke the 1,000-yard mark for the first time, an accomplishment he would repeat the two following years. During the 1985 season
1985 NFL season
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
, he rushed for 1,759 yards and scored 11 touchdowns on 380 carries, leading the Raiders to a 12-4 record and the AFC West Division Championship. In addition, Allen was named the NFL MVP.
Allen may be best remembered for his heroics in Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, deciding the National Football League champion following the 1983 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Los Angeles Raiders defeated the National Football Conference...
January 22, 1984 as he ran for 191 yards, caught two passes for 18 yards, and scored two touchdowns in the Raiders 38-9 victory over the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. Included in his stats was a 74-yard touchdown run, a feat that remained the longest run in Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
history until Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
when Willie Parker
Willie Parker
"Fast" Willie Everette Parker Jr. is an American football running back for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at North Carolina...
of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
broke the record by a single yard. Allen's 191 rushing yards were also a Super Bowl record, which stood until Timmy Smith
Timmy Smith
Timothy LaRay Smith is a former professional American football player who was a running back for the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted out of Texas Tech in the fifth round of the 1987 NFL Draft...
of the Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
topped it with 204 yards in Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game played on January 31, 1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1987 regular season...
. Upon winning the game, Allen joined an elite group of players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP (Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach
Roger Thomas Staubach is a businessman, Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Hall of Fame former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 until 1979. Staubach was instrumental in developing the Cowboys into becoming one of the best teams of the 1970s and led the team to nine of the Cowboys'...
, Jim Plunkett
Jim Plunkett
James William "Jim" Plunkett is a former American football quarterback who played college football for Stanford University, where he won the Heisman Trophy, and professionally for three National Football League teams: the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. ...
, Desmond Howard
Desmond Howard
Desmond Kevin Howard is a former NFL wide receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner.He played football for the University of Michigan from 1989–1991 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1991...
). Moreover, Allen put together one of the greatest postseasons ever by a NFL running back. On January 1, 1984, Allen gained 121 yards for two touchdowns on just 13 carries against the Pittsburgh Steelers. One week later, Allen rushed 25 times for 154 yards and scored on a touchdown reception. In total, Allen rushed 58 times for 466 yards and four touchdowns during the playoffs. He also added 118 yards and one touchdown on 14 receptions.
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
stemming from a contract dispute where Davis referred to Allen as a "cancer to the team." He also missed most of the 1989 season
1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
with a knee injury. Allen was relegated to back-up duty in his final three seasons with the Raiders and, at one time, fell to fourth on the depth chart. Allen's strained relationship with Davis reached an all-time low in December 1992. During halftime of the Raiders-Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
game on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, a taped interview between Al Michaels
Al Michaels
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...
and Allen was broadcast, with Allen stating that Davis "told me he was going to get me." Allen further stated, "I think he's [Davis] tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me. He's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame. They don't want me to play."
Allen eventually left Los Angeles and joined the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
in 1993
1993 NFL season
The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...
. Although he only rushed for 764 yards that year, he scored 12 touchdowns, leading the AFC, as he and Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game. As a result, Allen was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Allen went on to play for the Chiefs for four more seasons, leading the team in rushing every year but his last. Allen's main contribution to the Chiefs was his leadership. The Chiefs won more games than any other NFL team during his tenure in Kansas City. Allen made many contributions to charitable causes off the field in Kansas City, while also hosting his own talk show on Sunday mornings before Chiefs games.
Allen retired after the 1997 season
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
. In 1999, he was ranked 72nd on The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Allen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 2003.
In 1999, Allen was also inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions
San Diego Hall of Champions
The San Diego Hall of Champions is an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California. Located in the Federal Building in Balboa Park, the facility recognizes outstanding athletic accomplishments and traditions involving more than forty-two sports...
, Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/football/marcus-allen/
In 2008, Marcus Allen joined as a spokesman for the sports website OPENSports.com, the brainchild of Mike Levy
Mike Levy
Mike Levy it is an internet entrepreneur and the current chairman and CEO of OPENSports.com a sports web site founded in 2008. Prior to OPEN Sports, Levy was the founder and former president, chairman and CEO of SportsLine.com, Inc., a leading Internet sports media company and publisher of CBS...
, founder and former CEO of CBS Sportsline.com. Allen wrote a blog and occasionally answered member questions for the company during this time.
In 2011, Marcus Allen led the RioCan Wrecking Crew to a 2-1 record in the Strike out Cancer Baseball Tournament.
NFL Records:
- Consecutive seasons with multiple touchdowns: 16 - (tied with Irving FryarIrving FryarIrving Dale Fryar is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League.Fryar grew up in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey and played high school football at Rancocas Valley Regional High School...
) - Consecutive seasons with a rushing touchdown: 16
- Consecutive seasons with multiple rushing touchdowns: 16
- Oldest player to score 10+ touchdowns in a season: 37 years old
External links
- Marcus Allen Profile in Raiders Online
- Marcus Allen USC Legends web page