Allen Honored 23 Years After He Retired
by Tom LaMarre
Marcus Allen has been retired since 1997, but honors keep coming his way.
The 60-year-old Allen recently was named the best offensive player in Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders history by Barry Warner of the Touchdown Wire.
Wrote Warner: “Marcus Allen played 11 years with the Raiders, making the Pro Bowl five times and earning NFL MVP honors in 1985 after tallying 2,314 total yards from scrimmage. He won a Super Bowl (XVIII) and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. While Allen’s usage was sporadic after the 1985 season, he was a valuable receiver and blocker for the Raiders, as well. Allen played 16 seasons in the NFL, totaling 17,654 yards from scrimmage and 145 touchdowns.”
The 6-2, 210-pound Allen was drafted by the Raiders with the 10th overall pick of the 1982 NFL Draft after a brilliant career at USC, even though there was a feeling in some quarters around the league that he wasn’t fast enough to be a great back.
Boy, did he prove them wrong.
In his strike-shortened first season, Allen rushed for 697 yards and 11 touchdowns on 160 carries, a 4.4-yard average, in addition to catching 38 passes for 401 yards and three scores en route to being named 1982 NFL Rookie of the Year as the Raiders went 8-1.
Allen rushed for 1,014 yards and nine touchdowns, 1,168 yards and 13 scores, and a career-high 1,759 yards and 11 TDs over the next three seasons. During those years, he also caught 68 passes for 590 yards and two touchdowns, 64 passes for 758 yards and five scores, and 67 passes for 555 yards and three scores.
During the Raiders’ 38-9 rout of the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII on Jan. 22, 1984, Allen ran for 191 yards, caught two passes for 18 yards, and scored two touchdowns, one on a brilliant a 74-yard touchdown.
Allen split the running back duties with Bo Jackson from 1987 to 1990, showing his outstanding blocking ability, before he eventually left the Raiders in 1993 after a well-publicized feud with Raiders owner Al Davis and played his last five seasons with the arch-rival Kansas City Chiefs.
In 11 seasons with the Raiders, Allen amassed 13,060 yards from scrimmage.
“I think (Davis) tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me,” told Al Michaels in a taped interview on Monday Night Football during the 1992 season. “He's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame. They don’t want me to play.”
That a running back was named the best offensive player in Raiders history is pretty remarkable since the Silver and Black has been a passing team with quarterbacks Tom Flores, Daryle Lamonica, George Blanda, Kenny (Snake) Stabler, Jim Plunkett, Rich Gannon and Derek Carr throughout its history.
Not to mention wide receivers Art Powell, Warren Wells, Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch. Tim Brown, James Jett, Jerry Porter and Mervyn Fernandez, plus tight ends Billy Cannon, Raymond Chester, Todd Christensen, Dave Casper and Rickey Dudley.
But when it comes to Raiders running backs, Marcus Allen stands alone.
