Larry Allen, one of the key players on the Dallas Cowboys offensive line at the turn of the century. He is a Super Bowl XXX champion, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a true legend of the game.
Larry Christopher Allen was born on November 27, 1971, in Los Angeles. The future NFL star had a challenging childhood. As an infant, he survived meningitis, narrowly escaping death. At the age of ten, Larry suffered twelve knife wounds to his head, neck, and shoulders while defending his younger brother in a fight with a neighbor.
During his high school years, he attended four different schools, never staying at one for more than a year, and ultimately failed to graduate. Unsurprisingly, he had no prospects of receiving a scholarship from any NCAA college.
Allen spent two years at Butte Community College, where his team won the conference championship twice. He then transferred to Sonoma State University, a Division II school, where he earned two All-Star selections and caught the attention of NFL scouts.
In the 1994 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected him in the second round with the 46th overall pick. Allen became the first player in Sonoma State's program history to be drafted.
In his rookie season, he played ten games at the guard and tackle positions, and the Dallas offensive line became the best in the league, allowing only 20 sacks for 93 yards.
In 1995, Larry began his streak of seven consecutive Pro Bowl appearances. The Cowboys' offense that season was one of the league's finest, with running back Emmitt Smith setting franchise records for rushing yards and touchdowns (1773/25). The team culminated the year with a victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX.
Throughout the late 1990s, Allen was one of the most dominant linemen in the league, excelling at both tackle and guard positions. However, injuries started plaguing him at the beginning of the 2000s, including a broken hand, shoulder, elbow, hip, and ankle injuries. Despite this, he appeared in nearly every game, missing a significant portion of the 2002 season.
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In total, he played twelve years and 176 games for the Dallas Cowboys, earning ten Pro Bowl selections and seven All-Pro first-team honors. He spent the final two seasons of his career, 2006 and 2007, with the San Francisco 49ers, battling yet another injury and earning his eleventh Pro Bowl invitation.
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In August 2008, Allen announced his retirement. He was later named to the All-Decade Teams of the 1990s and 2000s, as well as the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He is also a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
After retiring, Allen settled in Danville, north of San Francisco. His son, Larry Allen Jr., graduated from Harvard and attempted to pursue a career in the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
