Current:Home > FinanceLarry Allen, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, dies suddenly at 52 -NextFrontier Capital
Larry Allen, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, dies suddenly at 52
View
Date:2025-04-16 21:29:31
DALLAS (AP) — Larry Allen, one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the NFL during a 12-year career spent mostly with the Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 52.
Allen died suddenly on Sunday while on vacation with his family in Mexico, the Cowboys said.
A six-time All-Pro who was inducted into the Pro Football of Hall of Fame in 2013, Allen said few words but let his blocking do the talking.
“Larry, known for his great athleticism and incredible strength, was one of the most respected, accomplished offensive linemen to ever play in the NFL,” the Cowboys said Monday. “His versatility and dependability were also signature parts of his career. Through that, he continued to serve as inspiration for many other players, defining what it meant to be a great teammate, competitor and winner.”
The former Sonoma State lineman drafted in the second round by the Cowboys in 1994 — the year before the last of the franchise’s five Super Bowl titles — Allen once bench-pressed 700 pounds while dumbfounded teammates watched, then mobbed him.
Allen was feared enough among his peers that notorious trash-talker John Randle of the Minnesota Vikings decided to keep to himself when he faced the Cowboys, so as to avoid making Allen mad.
“He never said nothin’,” Nate Newton, one of Allen’s mentors on Dallas’ offensive line, told The Associated Press for its Hall of Fame story on Allen 11 years ago. “Every now and then you’d hear him utter a cuss word or hear him laugh that old funny laugh he had.”
Allen entered the Hall of Fame as a first-ballot selection about a year after his mother died, knowing her presence would have helped him get through a speech after a career spent trying to avoid the spotlight.
“I miss her,” Allen said before going into the hall. “Whenever I’d get nervous or had a big game and got nervous, I’d give her a call, and she’d start making me laugh.”
The Cowboys were coming off consecutive Super Bowl wins when they drafted Allen. He was surrounded by Pro Bowl offensive linemen but didn’t take long to get noticed, eventually making 11 Pro Bowls himself.
Late in his rookie season, Allen saved a touchdown by running down Darion Conner when it looked like the New Orleans linebacker only had Troy Aikman to beat down the sideline. Most of the rest of his career was defined by power — first as a tackle, where the Cowboys figured he would be a mainstay, and ultimately as a guard.
“The National Football League is filled with gifted athletes, but only a rare few have combined the size, brute strength, speed and agility of Larry Allen,” the Hall of Fame said in a statement. “What he could do as an offensive lineman often defied logic and comprehension.”
Allen spent his final two seasons closer to home with the San Francisco 49ers. Then, true to his personality as a player, Allen retired to a quiet life in Northern California with his wife and three kids.
“He was deeply loved and cared for by his wife, Janelle — whom he referred to as his heart and soul — his daughters Jayla and Loriana and son, Larry III,” the Cowboys said.
Allen missed the first two Super Bowl titles in “The Triplets” era of Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and receiver Michael Irvin, all three Hall of Famers themselves.
After a loss to the 49ers in the NFC championship game when Allen was a rookie, the Cowboys broke through the next year to become the first to win three Super Bowls in four seasons.
“He was a HOF offensive lineman that dominated opponents regardless of the position played,” Aikman posted on the social platform X. “Off the field, he was a gentle giant that loved his family.”
Allen was playing at Butte College when his coach at Sonoma State, Frank Scalercio, discovered him at the junior college where the lineman landed after attending four high schools in the Los Angeles area in part because his mom moved him around to keep him away from gangs.
Then an assistant for Sonoma, Scalercio was recruiting another player when he saw Allen throw an opponent to the ground for the first time.
“I kinda forgot about the guy I was actually recruiting,” Scalercio said.
Allen ended up at tiny Sonoma, a Division II school, because his academic progress wasn’t fast enough to get him to Division I, where he probably belonged.
“He could literally beat the will out of his opponents, with many quitting midgame or not dressing at all rather than face him, but that was only on the field,” the Hall of Fame said. “Off it, he was a quiet, gentle giant.”
In retirement, Allen showed up at Sonoma basketball games — the football program was dropped a couple of years after Allen left — and happily signed autographs and posed for pictures.
“He’s even bigger now than he ever was on campus,” Tim Burrell, a friend of Allen’s, said in 2013. “Everybody loves him.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
veryGood! (2499)
Related
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Border arrests are expected to rise slightly in August, hinting 5-month drop may have bottomed out
- Chocolate’s future could hinge on success of growing cocoa not just in the tropics, but in the lab
- San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall released from hospital after shooting
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Jordan Spieth announces successful wrist surgery, expects to be ready for 2025
- College football schedule today: Games, scores for Saturday's Week 1 top 25 teams
- Jordan Spieth announces successful wrist surgery, expects to be ready for 2025
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Nick Saban cracks up College GameDay crew with profanity: 'Broke the internet'
Ranking
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Moms for Liberty fully embraces Trump and widens role in national politics as election nears
- Pregnant Cardi B and Offset Reunite to Celebrate Son Wave's 3rd Birthday Amid Divorce
- Pilot declared emergency, loss of autopilot before crash that killed 3 members of famed gospel group
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- The Rural Americans Too Poor for Federal Flood Protections
- First Labor Day parade: Union Square protest was a 'crossroads' for NYC workers
- Jason Duggar Is Engaged to Girlfriend Maddie Grace
Recommendation
Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
Watch this smart pup find her owner’s mom’s grave with ease despite never meeting her
Sephora Flash Sale: 50% Off 24-Hour Lancome Foundation, Viral Clinique Black Honey Lipstick & More
Scottie Scheffler caps off record season with FedEx Cup title and $25 million bonus
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
Is Usha Vance’s Hindu identity an asset or a liability to the Trump-Vance campaign?
Remembering the Volkswagen Beetle: When we said bye-bye to the VW Bug for the last time
Strikes start at top hotel chains as housekeepers seek higher wages and daily room cleaning work