Larry Allen was a huge man with unsurpassed talent and a fierce demeanor on the football field. In 14 NFL seasons (12 with the Dallas Cowboys, two with the San Francisco 49ers), he was a six-time All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman.
“I hear people say Larry was the best offensive lineman in the game, and that's just not right,” Cowboys teammate and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin once said. “Larry was the best player in the league and he wasn't even close.”
But Allen, who died suddenly Sunday at age 52 while vacationing with his family in Mexico, had fears rooted in his upbringing in Compton. At age 9, he was stabbed 12 times in the head and shoulder while defending his younger brother, Von, from an older boy whose mother had given him a knife.
After enduring painful stitches on his wounds, Allen became so afraid of needles that he even refused Novocaine before his dentist filled a cavity. As for the boy with the knife, Allen found him three months after the stabbing.
“My mom said, 'I'm not raising no punk, so she made me fight this guy,'” Allen said during his Hall of Fame induction speech in 2013. “She said, 'You'll fight him until you win.' . The first day I lost. The second day I lost. On the third day I finally won. That was one of the most valuable lessons I learned in my life: never back down from anyone.”
Allen's mother, Vera, was his guiding force.
“We would hear the gunshots outside our house, we would automatically get out of bed, lie on the floor until the gunshots stopped, then go back to bed and go to sleep,” he told The Times in 1994. “After a while , we got pretty good at it.”
A few years later she moved with her two children to Northern California. Allen attended four high schools and did not play football until his junior year, when the family returned to Southern California and he enrolled at Compton Centennial.
A year later, Allen was again on the run due to gang activity and drug dealing near his family home, playing his senior year at Vintage High in Napa while staying with the family of a friend, Steve Hagland. Allen did not graduate and transferred to small Butte Junior College in Chico, where he dominated on the field but did not earn the grades necessary to transfer to a Division I program.
He returned to his mother's house in Compton, played basketball and worked odd jobs. Football became an afterthought until Frank Scalercio, an assistant coach at Division II Sonoma State, tracked him down and brought him back to Northern California.
While trying to convince Sonoma head coach Tim Walsh that Allen was worth recruiting, Scalercio repeated a rumor he had heard that the lineman could dunk a basketball. Walsh rolled his eyes when Allen, all 325 pounds of him, arrived on campus.
“I was bragging about this kid for months and it always included the fact that he could shoot a basket,” Scalercio told Star magazine. “So here we were, the basketball team was in the gym, some soccer players, everyone watching him. . And he hits this two-handed slam like none of us have ever seen. The ball was bouncing on the ground for about 10 seconds and no one said a word. “I have never heard silence like that in my life.”
Two years later, Allen couldn't stay silent when he received a call from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on NFL draft day.
Jones: “Son, would you like to be a cowboy?”
Allen: “Yes, sir!”
The Compton kid who had bounced around four high schools, one college and one Division II program was a second-round pick of the reigning Super Bowl champions.
“I ran out of my apartment and jumped into the pool with all my clothes on,” Allen said.
Shortly after, he bought Vera a house in Sacramento.
“Everything she gave and did for my brother and me, that was the only gift I could give her,” Allen said. “She did everything for my brother and me. “My life could have ended very differently.”
However, sadly his life ended prematurely. Allen is survived by his wife, Janelle, his daughters Jayla and Loriana, and his son Larry III.
“Known for his tremendous athleticism and incredible strength, Larry was one of the most respected and accomplished offensive linemen to ever play in the NFL,” the Cowboys said in a statement. “His versatility and dependability were also distinctive parts of his career. Through that, he continued to serve as an inspiration to many other players, defining what it meant to be a great teammate, competitor and winner.
“The Jones family and the Cowboys extend their deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the Allen family and mourn along with many other Cowboys friends and teammates who also loved Larry.”
I just received the heartbreaking news of the passing of our beloved teammate Larry Allen. He was a HOF offensive lineman who dominated his opponents regardless of the position he played. Off the field, he was a gentle giant who loved his family. Rest in peace LA💔🙏🏼
—Troy Aikman (@TroyAikman) June 3, 2024
Allen's exploits on the field are legendary. He excelled at guard and tackle, ran a 4.8-second 40-yard dash and was amazing in the weight room, although he famously didn't like lifting weights.
Social media sites on Monday were filled with tributes to Allen that included his most memorable feats, like the time he bench-pressed 700 pounds (300 pounds more than any teammate) and resisted Rocket Ismail falling on his chest. from Allen with glee.
And the time he bench pressed 225 pounds 43 times.
And the time he chased New Orleans Saints linebacker Darion Conner 50 yards downfield after an interception.
Allen was also apparently responsible for his opponents contracting a unique illness.
“Players will see it on film during the week and then they'll leave with some mystery injury or flu or something,” New York Giants All-Pro defensive end Michael Strahan said. “We call that getting 'Allen-itis.' “
Allen, who was penalized for holding only 13 times in 14 seasons, helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl XXX following the 1995 season in a 27-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Six years after retiring in 2007, he recited the names of many teammates, coaches and family members during his Hall of Fame induction speech in Canton, Ohio.
“My goal was simple: earn a seven-letter word called respect,” he said. “The respect of my teammates, opponents and the NFL. Today my mission is complete. I also played hard, whistle by whistle, to subdue my opponents. And today I submit to you. I can't wait to see my friends.
“I've been lucky enough to play the game I love. And remember this, it was never about me, Larry Allen, but about the many, many people who helped me.”
