DALLAS ( AP )— Larry Allen, one of the most powerful offensive lineman in the NFL during a 12- time profession spent mostly with the Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 52.
According to the Cowboys, Allen passed away suddenly on Sunday while he was away with his home in Mexico.
A six- day All- Pro who was inducted into the , Pro Football of Hall of Fame , in 2013,  , Allen said some words , but letting his blocking would the talking.
Dallas Cowboys rude watch Larry Allen stones against Ed Jasper of the Oakland Raiders during a 19- 13 lost at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Sunday, October 2, 2005. ( Kirby Lee/NFLPhotoLibrary )
” Larry, known for his great strength and amazing strength, was one of the most respected, done offensive lineman to actually play in the NFL”, the Cowboys said Monday. His diversity and dependability were likewise distinguishing qualities of his career. Through that, he continued to serve as motivation for many other people, defining what it meant to be a great partner, competition and success”.
The Cowboys selected the former Sonoma State lineman in the second round in 1994, the year before the franchise’s final five Super Bowl victories. Allen once bench-pressed 700 pounds while confused teammates watched and mobbed him.
To avoid making Allen mad, notorious trash-talker John Randle of the Minnesota Vikings kept quiet when he faced the Cowboys.
” 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. You’d occasionally hear him utter a foul phrase or laugh at his old, funny face.
The Dallas Cowboys ‘ All-Pro guard Larry Allen celebrates the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys at Monster Park in San Francisco on September 25, 2005. ( Peter Brouillet/NFLPhotoLibrary )
After his mother passed away a year later, Allen, who had known her for a career spent trying to avoid being in the spotlight, knew that she would have helped him through a speech.
” 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”.
When the Cowboys selected Allen, they were coming off four Super Bowl victories. He was surrounded by Pro Bowl offensive linemen but did n’t take long to get noticed, eventually making 11 Pro Bowls himself.
When it appeared Allen had only Troy Aikman to beat down the sideline, Allen saved a touchdown by running down Darion Conner late in his rookie season. The majority of his career was defined by power, first as a tackle for the Cowboys, who anticipated him to be a star, and then 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. He frequently defied logic and comprehension because of what he could do as an offensive lineman.
Allen spent his final two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers more in-depth. After that, in keeping with his personality as a player, Allen left his quiet life in Northern California with his wife and three children.
His daughters Jayla and Loriana, son Larry III, and his wife Janelle, who he referred to as his heart and soul, were close friends with and cared for him deeply, the Cowboys said.
When his Sonoma State coach, 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 mother moved him to avoid gangs, he was playing there.
When he first saw Allen throw an opponent to the ground for the first time, Scalercio, who was an assistant for Sonoma, noticed that he was recruiting a new player.
” 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 was n’t fast enough to get him to Division I, where he probably belonged.
The Hall of Fame added that “he could literally beat the will of his opponents,” with many of them quitting midgame or choosing not to face him. ” Off it, he was a quiet, gentle giant”.
Allen retired from Sonoma basketball games; the football team was dropped a few years after, so he showed up there with his happy autographs and posed for photos.
” He’s even bigger now than he ever was on campus”, Tim Burrell, a friend of Allen’s, said in 2013. ” Everybody loves him”.
