DALLAS (AP) — Larry Allen, one of the NFL’s most accomplished offensive linemen during his 12-year career with the Dallas Cowboys, has died at the age of 52.
The Cowboys said Allen died unexpectedly Sunday while vacationing in Mexico with his family.
He was selected as an All-Pro six times. Pro Football Hall of Fame In 2013, Allen said nothing. But his blocking speaks for itself.
Dallas Cowboys offensive guard Larry Allen makes a block on Ed Jasper of the Oakland Raiders during a 19-13 loss at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2005. (Kirby Lee/NFLPhotoLibrary)
“Known for his incredible athleticism and incredible strength, Larry was one of the most respected and accomplished offensive linemen in NFL history,” the Cowboys said in a statement Monday. “His versatility and reliability were also hallmarks of his career. Through it all, he continued to inspire so many others and define what it means to be a great teammate, competitor and winner.”
Allen, a former Sonoma State lineman who was drafted in the second round by the Cowboys in 1994 (the year before the franchise’s last five-time Super Bowl champion), once bench-pressed 700 pounds as stunned teammates looked on and was then surrounded by others.
Allen was so feared by his peers that notorious Minnesota Vikings bad-mouther John Randle decided to keep his mouth shut when playing against the Cowboys to avoid upsetting Allen.
“He never said anything,” Nate Newton, one of Allen’s mentors on the Dallas offensive line, said in an Associated Press article about Allen’s Hall of Fame induction 11 years ago. “Occasionally you’d hear him swear or let out one of those old-fashioned, goofy laughs.”
Dallas Cowboys All-Pro guard Larry Allen celebrates after scoring the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Monster Park in San Francisco on September 25, 2005. (Peter Brouillet/NFL Photo Library)
Allen was inducted into the Hall of Fame about a year after his mother’s death, knowing her presence would help him get through the speech after a career in which he shunned the spotlight.
“I miss her so much,” Allen said before entering the hole. “Whenever I’m nervous or I’m nervous about a big game, I call her and she makes me laugh.”
When the Cowboys drafted Allen, the team had won consecutive Super Bowls, and while he was surrounded by Pro Bowl offensive linemen, he quickly caught attention and would eventually go on to play in 11 Pro Bowls.
Late in his rookie season, Allen hounded New Orleans linebacker Darrion Conner down the sideline when it looked like only Troy Aikman could beat him, and most of his career after that was defined by power, first as a tackle, where the Cowboys expected him to be a mainstay, and then eventually as a guard.
“The NFL is filled with talented athletes, but few possess Larry Allen’s combination of size, strength, speed and agility,” the Hall of Fame said in a statement. “His performances as an offensive lineman often defy logic or understanding.”
Allen spent his final two seasons closer to home with the San Francisco 49ers, then, true to his character as a player, retired and lived a quiet life in Northern California with his wife and three children.
“He was deeply loved and cherished by his wife, Janelle, whom he called his heart and soul, his daughters Jayla and Lorianna, and his son Larry III,” the Cowboys said.
Allen played at Butte College, but Sonoma State coach Frank Scaleracio discovered him at a junior college where he attended as a lineman after attending four Los Angeles-area high schools, partly because his mother had him transferred there to get him away from gangs.
Scalercio, then an assistant at Sonoma, was recruiting another player when he first witnessed Allen throw someone to the ground.
“I totally forgot about the guy I was actually recruiting,” Scalercio said.
Allen ended up going to Sonoma, a small Division II school, because he wasn’t progressing academically fast enough to go to a Division I school where he presumably should have been.
“He had the power to literally break the will of his opponents, many of whom left games or dressed down to avoid playing against him, but that was on the field,” the Hall of Fame said. “Off the field, he was a quiet, gentle giant.”
Since his retirement, Allen has shown up at Sonoma basketball games (the football program was eliminated a few years after he left), eager to sign autographs and pose for photos.
“He’s more famous now than he was on campus,” Allen’s friend Tim Burrell said in 2013. “Everybody loves him.”
