Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales

Today’s story is on Terry Allen’s 133 mph per hour ride that led to the local jail.

Allen was a solid running back for the Redskins from 1995-98 after two 1,000-yard years at Minnesota. Allen gained 1,309 yards in 1995 and 1,353 yards in 1996 when leading the NFL with 21 touchdowns.

One thing Allen couldn’t run from was the law. Now, when I got married, my father told me if I was ever mad enough to hit someone, grab the car keys and drive until I didn’t feel like it anymore. (Coming up on our 40 wedding anniversary with never a big fight.

Well, I guess Terry’s dad taught him the same lesson because after arguing with his wife, Terry went for a late-night drive. The difference in our stories is Terry’s car went much faster than my old Toyota.

Terry owned a brand new $137,000 F355 Ferrari Spider and the Georgia state police estimated he was driving 150 to 180 miles per hour. The blue lights came on. Here’s where Terry made his big mistake – he didn’t pull over. It would have been a massive ticket, but he would paid it and moved on.

No, Terry tried to evade cops in Monroe, Ga. Full Smokey and the Bandit stuff. He eventually crashed into a road sign trying to evade a police road block and was charged with reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, refusing to pull over for police roadblocks, striking a fixed object and no proof of insurance.

I called the local court house looking for sentencing guidelines. It was a small place and the judge himself got on the phone and told me, "Anyone driving 133 mph is looking at time in jail.” In hindsight, I was doing my job, but still felt bad about influencing the process.

That’s because Allen’s attorney Bubba Head, known as “The Gladiator,” gained a change of venue for that prejudicial statement. Head delayed sentencing for one year, but Allen received 10 days in jail, 40 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine. He served five days, which was normal, and two weeks later reported to the 1998 training camp.

Now Terry wasn’t the easiest guy to interview on a good day, but I give him credit. On the first day of camp, he stood there like a man and owned up to his misdeed. Not many people do that. So, Allen talked about it once and that was it. Fair enough.

Allen wasn’t the same player afterwards. He only played 10 games each of the next two years gaining 700+ yards both times. He then spent the next three years with three different teams, finishing his career with 8,614 rushing yards and 73 touchdowns. That Stephen Davis and Clinton Portis followed with bigger years makes people forget Allen was a legit runner in Washington.

Tomorrow, Ol’ Ricky explains why a player was wearing a dress in the locker room. Even more amazing, it was his momma’s. Lots of stories in my book and these are the types of tales I’ll tell on my “Pizza and Pigskins Tours” later this summer.

Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Redskins in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks.