Marcus Allen

''This man is an American Football player, for the publisher, see Marcus Allen (publisher)

Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960 in San Diego, California) is a former American football player, and until recently affiliated with CBS as a game analyst. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,411 yards during his career for both the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1982 to 1997. He scored 145 touchdowns including a then league record 123 rushing touchdowns and was elected to six Pro Bowls when he retired. He was also a fairly good passer for a running back, completing 12 of 27 passes for 285 yards and 6 touchdowns, with only 1 interception.

Allen is considered as one of the greatest goal line and short-yardage runners in National Football League history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He is the older brother of the CFL's all-time passing yardage leader, Damon Allen.

High school career

He played football at Lincoln Senior High School in San Diego where he played the quarterback and running back positions.

College career

He then he played running back at the University of Southern California from 1978-1981. He spent his first 2 seasons at USC as a backup to Heisman Trophy winning running back Charles White. In 1980, he became a starter and rushed for 1,563 yards, the second most in the nation that year. Then in 1981, Allen had one of the most spectacular seasons in NCAA history. He rushed for 2,342 yards, becoming the first player in NCAA history to gain over 2,000 yards in one season. He also gained a total of 2,683 offensive yards, led the nation in scoring, and won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Trophy, and Walter Camp Award and 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, with twelve games reaching the bicentennial mark.

USC has retired his jersey number (#33), and coach John Robinson called Allen "The greatest player I ever saw" .

NFL career

Allen was drafted as the tenth overall pick on the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. In his rookie season in 1982, he rushed for 697 yards as he led the Raiders to the best record in the AFC with a strike-shortned 8-1 record and was elected as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Raiders would lose to the New York Jets in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

The next season, Marcus rushed for over 1,000 yards for the first time, he would do that again in 1984 and 1985. That season, he rushed for 1,759 yards and scored 11 touchdowns on 380 carries as he led the Raiders to a 12-4 record and the AFC West Title and was named the NFL MVP. During that time, he also caught 60 or more receptions for 3 years running (1983-85).

Allen is best remembered for his heroics in Super Bowl XVIII. He ran for 191 yards, caught 2 passes for 18 yards, and scored 2 touchdowns in the Raiders 38-9 victory over the Washington Redskins. This included a 74-yard touchdown run, a record that was the longest run in Super Bowl history, until Super Bowl XL when it was broken by Willie Parker, by a single yard. After a stormy relationship with Al Davis including missing most of the 1989 season with a knee injury, he left Los Angeles to join the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993, that year he rushed for only 764 yards, but scored 12 touchdowns leading the AFC, as he and Joe Montana led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year that season. 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 abilities. 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. He also hosted his own talk show on Sunday mornings before Chiefs games. Allen retired after 1997 season.

In August 2005, Allen and CBS Sports parted ways. The network began to diminish Allen's role over the last few years. Allen currently works for the NFL Network.

References

Pro Football Hall of Fame bio accessed March 1st, 2006
100 Greatest Players of All-Time #54 Marcus Allen accessed April 7, 2006
Quick bio on Marcus Allen accessed March 1st 2006
college football Hall of Fame bio accessed April 7, 2006.
Biography of Allen Retrieved April 7, 2006

External links

Biography and Stats of Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen Profile in Raiders Online

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Marcus Allen

High school career

College career

NFL career

References

External links