page_title: Marcus Allen
section_title: Professional football career
hierarchical_section_title: Marcus Allen / Professional football career
caption_attribution_description: English: Washington D.C. (Sept. 4, 2003) – Yeoman 2nd Class Katherine Ward and professional football Hall of Fame member Marcus Allen introduce Aretha Franklin during a concert in tribute to U.S. military members on the National Mall. Operation Tribute to Freedom, the NFL and Pepsi sponsored the NFL Kickoff Live 2003 Concert with priority seating for military members and their families. Among the performers were Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige and Good Charlotte. Operation Tribute to Freedom (OTF) was set up by the Department of Defense as a way for Americans to show their appreciation to our men and women in uniform.
context_page_description: Marcus LeMarr Allen is an American former football running back and analyst who played in the National Football League for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short-yard runners in NFL history, he was selected by the Raiders in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft, 10th overall, following a successful college football career at USC. He was a member of the Raiders for 11 seasons and spent his last five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
  During his professional career, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,412 yards. He also scored 145 touchdowns, including a then-league-record 123 rushing touchdowns, and was elected to six Pro Bowls. While with the Raiders, he helped the team win Super Bowl XVIII. He was the first NFL player to gain more than 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards during his career. Allen has the distinction of being the only player to have won the Heisman Trophy, an NCAA national championship, the Super Bowl, and be named NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
context_section_description: Allen was drafted with the 10th overall selection of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Raiders. Allen was pleased that he didn't have to travel as the team had just relocated from Oakland. Allen has recalled that shortly before being drafted the Raiders asked him his weight (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 lost 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). 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 . In later seasons with the Raiders, Allen had a stormy relationship with owner Al Davis stemming from a contract dispute; 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 in which Allen said that Davis "told me he was going to get me", adding, "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 Chiefs playoff games that year, and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association. With the retirement of Eric Dickerson in 1993, Allen became the active leader in career rushing yards, a position he maintained until being passed by Barry Sanders in Game 1 of 1997. 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. Allen was also inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
  In 1999, Allen was also inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame.
  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.
caption: Marcus Allen with Yeoman 2nd Class Katherine Ward introduce Aretha Franklin during a concert in tribute to U.S. military members on the National Mall, September 4, 2003
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