Marcus Allen

High school

Allen played football at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Diego, California, where he played the quarterback and safety positions. Watching Allen in the 1977 CIF Title game against | Kearny High School (San Diego, California), one saw the emergence of a superstar. Allen led the Lincoln team to a 34-6 victory, scoring five touchdowns, including one after intercepting a pass. Allen rushed for 195 yards.

College

Allen played running back at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1978 to 1981. He was recruited as a defensive back, but head coach John Robinson switched him to tailback. As a freshman in 1978, Allen was a member of the Trojans' National Championship team (as recognized by the coaches poll), playing as a backup to eventual Heisman Trophy winning running back Charles White.

In 1979, he was moved to fullback. Eventually, in 1980, Allen became the starter at tailback and rushed for 1,563 yards, the third-most in the nation that year (behind George Rogers of S. Carolina - 1,781 yards and Herschel Walker of Georgia - 1,616). In 1981, Allen rushed for 2,342 yards, becoming the second player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards in one season, passing the 2,000 yard mark in a win at Cal. He also gained a total of 2,683 offensive yards, led the nation in scoring, and won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award. He was also the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Allen shares the NCAA record for most 200-yard rushing games with Ricky Williams and Ron Dayne, each completing the feat twelve times.

Allen finished his four college seasons with 4,664 rushing yards, 5,232 total yards, and 46 touchdowns, while averaging 5.2 yards per carry.

USC has retired his jersey #33.

Professional football career

Allen was drafted with the 10th overall selection of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Raiders. In a recent ad on NFL Network, Allen recalls shortly before being drafted that the Raiders asked him his weight at the time (he answered 200 or 212) and then drafted him soon after. Though his rookie season was shortened by a league strike, Allen rushed for 697 yards and led the Raiders to the best record in the AFC at 8-1. He was voted the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Raiders would lose to the New York Jets in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

The next season, Allen broke the 1,000-yard mark for the first time, an accomplishment he would repeat the two following years. During the 1985 season, he rushed for 1,759 yards and scored 11 touchdowns on 380 carries, leading the Raiders to a 12-4 record and the AFC West Division Championship. In addition, Allen was named the NFL MVP.

In Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984, Allen ran for 191 yards, caught two passes for 18 yards, and scored two touchdowns in the Raiders 38–9 victory over the Washington Redskins. Included in his stats was a 74-yard touchdown run, a feat that remained the longest run in Super Bowl history until Willie Parker's 75-yard run in Super Bowl XL. Allen's 191 rushing yards were also a Super Bowl record, which stood until Timmy Smith of the Redskins topped it with 204 yards in Super Bowl XXII. Upon winning the game, Allen joined a small group of players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP (Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett, and later Desmond Howard). On January 1, 1984, Allen gained 121 yards for two touchdowns on just 13 carries against the Pittsburgh Steelers. One week later, Allen rushed 25 times for 154 yards and scored on a touchdown reception. In total, Allen rushed 58 times for 466 yards and four touchdowns during the playoffs. He also added 118 yards and one touchdown on 14 receptions.

From 1987 through 1990, Allen shared the backfield with Bo Jackson. Initially, Allen was commended for his gracious nature and team spirit for sharing the spotlight during the prime of his career [1]. In future seasons with the Raiders, Allen formed a stormy relationship with owner Al Davis stemming from a contract dispute where Davis referred to Allen as a "cancer to the team." He also missed most of the 1989 season with a knee injury. Allen was relegated to back-up duty in his final three seasons with the Raiders and, at one time, fell to fourth on the depth chart. Allen's strained relationship with Davis reached an all-time low in December 1992. During halftime of the Raiders-Dolphins game on Monday Night Football, a taped interview between Al Michaels and Allen was broadcast, with Allen stating that Davis "told me he was going to get me." Allen further stated, "I think he [Davis] tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me. He's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame. They don't want me to play."

Allen eventually left Los Angeles and joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993. Although he only rushed for 764 yards that year, he scored 12 touchdowns, leading the AFC, as he and Joe Montana led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game. Allen scored touchdowns in both of the Chiefs playoff games that year, and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association. Allen went on to play for the Chiefs for four more seasons, leading the team in rushing every year but his last.

Allen retired after the 1997 season. In 1999, he was ranked 72nd on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Allen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

In 1999, Allen was also inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.

In 2008, Allen joined as a spokesman for the sports website OPENSports.com, the brainchild of Mike Levy, founder and former CEO of CBS Sportsline.com. Allen wrote a blog and occasionally answered member questions for the company during this time.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

In 1986, Allen met Kathryn Edwards and the two later got engaged. During their engagement, Allen and Edwards were mentioned in Faye Resnick's book, Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted, which was published during Simpson's murder trial. Resnick claimed Nicole Brown Simpson was having an affair with Allen and Edwards was aware of Allen's womanizing ways and if she knew of the affair she would have to call off the wedding. The couple was asked to testify in the trial but fought the subpoena as they wanted to stay out of it. Despite the allegations, the pair married and the ceremony was held at O. J. Simpson's Rockingham estate. After eight years the couple got divorced, in 2001.