On Monday morning, the Dallas Cowboys revealed that Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Allen had suddenly died at the age of 52. To lose someone like Allen in this fashion — in any capacity — is absolutely heartbreaking. May the legendary offensive lineman rest in peace.
If there is one silver lining, though, it lets us fondly recount the massive imprint Allen left on the NFL.
Beyond the concrete individual accolades — six First-Team All-Pro selections, 11 Pro Bowls — it was always abundantly clear Allen had broken the mold for your bog standard franchise offensive lineman. Short episodes of him demolishing the 2006 Pro Bowl Skills Competition were just the tip of the iceberg for this icon.
Here are eight incredible stories about Allen’s otherworldly athleticism and his sheer dominance from some of the people who knew him best during his career.
John Madden’s true appreciation
The late Madden never hid his affinity for players he genuinely appreciated as a broadcaster. Allen was one of them.
Madden gushed about Allen’s remarkable talent in 2011 after it was revealed he would join the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor. More from ESPN:
“There are some times when you know that you are watching one of the best players ever [Allen],” Madden said. “When I watched a player it wasn’t just the game we’d have, but also tape and film leading up to those games. At first you’d watch him and say, ‘This guy’s pretty good,’ and then he’d keep going and going and he was so strong and had such good balance. Then you’d realize what it was you were seeing — and that was one of the best of all time.”
Madden didn’t stop there with Allen. He issued some of the highest possible praise.
“If somebody said to God, ‘What should all the guards look like?'” Madden said, “Then he would send Larry Allen down.”
Marcus Spears knew beating Allen was an impossible task
Allen had a knack for making professional football defenders feel like they were playing a different sport. His ex-Cowboys teammate, Marcus Spears, laid this fact out perfectly after facing off in practices against him.
“Felt like you were going against a brick wall,” Spears said. “He [Allen] was so good. He’s the best offensive lineman to ever play, I think. I know that’s saying a lot, but he went to the Pro Bowl at tackle and guard. Larry could do it all.”
Michael Irvin couldn’t believe Allen’s casual strength
Another of Allen’s ex-Cowboys teammates, fellow Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, knew that the guard’s strength wasn’t something to be trifled with. The receiver recalled the time Allen humbled everyone with an astonishing bench press set during the 2006 Pro Bowl:
“That’s good enough … you can put the weights down and go get that check,” Irvin told Allen after he bench-pressed 225 pounds for 43 reps with ease. “He was so strong, I mean, god almighty.”
John Randle was humble enough to meet his match
In his heyday, few defensive linemen were as prolific as Minnesota Vikings wrecking ball John Randle. He would embarrass interior offensive linemen on a weekly basis during his own Hall of Fame career.
Well, really, everyone except Allen.
Randle detailed his experience while graciously presenting Allen as one of the greatest NFL players of all time for NFL Films:
Allen let a young Justin Tuck know that he had no chance
Usually, offensive linemen don’t want to divulge the play call to the defense. For obvious reasons, it’s better that the dynamic athletes on the other side of the ball are kept in the dark until the ball is actually snapped.
According to two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck, this never mattered to Allen. In fact, the stalwart guard would literally tell the opposition the ball was going through his hole by mimicking a truck sound because he knew they had no chance of beating him.
How terrifyingly awesome:
When Allen left everyone speechless on a basketball court
Back when Allen’s legend was still burgeoning as a college amateur, some people wanted more proof in the pudding. To do so, Allen’s coaches at Sonoma State put him through the paces … on the basketball court. They wanted to see if Allen could really dunk even despite his immense frame.
They were eventually left speechless.
More from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
“They tracked him [Allen] down on a basketball court, the same place Sonoma coach Tim Walsh took Allen when he showed up on campus. Walsh wanted to see the 6-foot-3 Allen lift his 320-pound frame for a dunk.
“You could have heard a pin drop when he slammed the ball,” Sonoma head coach Tim Scalercio said. “It was like in the movies where it just goes ‘tick, tick, tick, tick’ and stops.”
Dan Dierdorf couldn’t believe his eyes
A Hall of Fame offensive lineman in his own right, it took a lot for Dierdorf to be impressed with someone’s play in the trenches. As a rookie, Allen did it from the jump and from another position entirely. After watching Allen save a pick-six by running down a linebacker in 1994, Dierdorf glowed with praise.
As a rookie, Allen had been forced to play tackle because Erik Williams had been injured. The Cowboys led 7-0 in the second quarter when a pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage. Darion Conner picks it off and runs it the other way. Allen runs him down the sideline and tackles him to save a pick-6 with Dan Dierdorf losing his mind at the marvel he just saw. “This guy has a rocket booster strapped to his back. … Look at this, folks — 6-3, 325 pounds! I’m telling you, that is one of the most impressive athletic feats I have ever seen!”
