THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND
BY MARK HALPERN
Larry Allen passed away this past week at the age of 52 while on vacation in Mexico with his family. Larry Allen was drafted in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft and immediately made an impact in the NFL. Allen was part of the best Offensive Line during the 1990’s Cowboys Dynasty. Allen consistently made holes (that you could drive a small army though) for running back Emmitt Smith and kept many a Defensive player out of Troy Aikman’s way of being sacked.
One of Allen’s greatest moments came in his rookie season against the New Orleans Saints. Aikman threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted by Darrion Carter and he had a clear path to the end zone. However, Larry Allen at 6’3” and 325lbs ended up “Turing on a rocket booster” As Analyst Dan Dierdorf said and ran him down at about the 20 yard line. Allen proved that Offensive Linemen could do more than just block. Allen at his size and weight was able to move with the best of them because of his speed and strength. Allen during his career was famous for being able to shift from the Tackle position to the Guard position in games and because of this it gave the Cowboys such versatility especially when injuries to Erik Williams happened.
During his illustrious career with the Cowboys (1994-2005) Larry Allen won a Super Bowl (1995), was named to the Pro Bowl 11 times and retired in 2007 after spending his final two years with the 49ers. Because of his dynamic play and career he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2013. On X (Twitter) many of Allen’s former teammates from Aikman to Romo sent their deepest sympathies for Allen’s family. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Allen will go down as one of the absolute best Offensive Lineman to step foot on the Gridiron.
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