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Former 49ers TE Vernon Davis Describes His Fight with Larry Allen

"At that time, I was probably the only guy who wasn't afraid to stand up to Larry Allen."

Grant Cohn

Nov. 25, 2007; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 37-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov. 25, 2007; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 37-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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Former 49ers tight end Vernon Davis is releasing his memoir, Play Ball, this summer on August 20.

In his memoir, he describes a fight he once had with Hall of Fame offensive lineman Larry Allen, who recently passed away. In an exclusive interview with All49ers OnSI, Davis explained what happened in that legendary fight.

DAVIS: "If you sat in his seat, all he had to do was look at you and you were going to get up. He was just one of those guys. He had a special presence. He was one of the strongest men on Earth. Larry was also an amazing human being. Great person, great to be around. I remember I was on the football field and he said something to me. He had been saying things to me for two years -- I was in my second season in the NFL. And I said something back. And he looked at me and said, 'What you say, young punk?' I said, 'You shut up.' At that moment, I knew something was about to happen. I went to the sideline after the play was over, Larry came walking over in slow motion. And he said, 'What you say to me again?' I just swallowed my spit and said, 'You...you...you shut up.' So he swung at me. I ducked. Came back up. Tried to hit him, but his forearm blocked me. He was like Superman. It was crazy. And he grabbed my hair. Next thing you know, the entire team and coaching staff came over to protect me and break it up. But I'm glad they broke it up. If they didn't break it up, you probably would have found me at Stanford University Hospital."

ME: I admire that you didn't back down, though.

DAVIS: "The neighborhood I come from, you never back down from anything. I was brought up to be tough. It didn't matter how big the person was, you don't back down from anybody. At that time, I was probably the only guy who wasn't afraid to stand up to Larry Allen."

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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