The Greatness of Raiders Legend Marcus Allen
The Oakland-Los Angeles-Las Vegas Raiders have had some outstanding running backs through the years, from Clem Daniels during the 1960s to Josh Jacobs the last two seasons.
However, the best of all was Marcus Allen, who played 11 seasons with the Silver and Black before spending the last five years of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ron Wolf, who was Raiders scouting executive for 25 years before going onto to more greatness as general manager of the Green Bay Packers and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, went one step further.
“Of all the players that we had in my 25 years with the Raiders, I have to say that Marcus Allen was the best one that we had,” Wolf said.
Bleacher Report, in the 2010 story, claimed that Allen was “the most complete running back in NFL history.”
When you look at the numbers, Allen makes his own case.
Even though Allen won the Heisman Trophy and several other awards after gaining 2,342 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns in his senior year at USC, incredibly he was still available for the L.A. Raiders with the 10th overall selection in the 1982 NFL Draft.
Teams apparently were concerned that the 6-2, 210-pound Allen didn’t have blazing speed.
“If we’d had the first pick in the draft, it would have been Marcus Allen,” Wolf told the Raiders media on the day of the draft.
Allen showed the Raiders and the rest of the NFL that he was the real deal even though his rookie season was shortened to nine games because of a players’ strike, rushing for 697 yards and 11 touchdowns, in addition to catching 38 passes for 401 yards and three scores.
That was only the beginning, as Allen rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the next three seasons, capped by 1,759 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1985 when he also caught 67 passes for 555 yards and three TDs.
The highlight of those years was the Raiders’ 38-9 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII, in which Allen rushed for 191 yards, including a brilliant 74-yard touchdown run that ranks with the greatest in the history of the Super Bowl. He was voted the game’s Most Valuable Player.
On the last play of the third-quarter play, Allen took a handoff from quarterback Jim Plunkett and started left but found his path blocked by Redskins, so he cut back to the other side, turned upfield, and broke into the clear.
The man supposedly without blazing speed then outran all the Redskins to the end zone.
“I felt someone grab me from behind, but pulled away, and then there was an alley,” Allen said of his run that gave the Raiders an insurmountable 35-9 lead. “(Cornerback) Darrell Green did not see me go by and I felt like I could outrun the rest of the guys. (Wide receiver) Cliff Branch brushed someone downfield … it was the greatest run I have ever had on this level.”
Unfortunately, the final years of Allen’s career with the Raiders were marred by his feud with Managing General Partner Al Davis.
Allen’s playing time and production were limited because the Raiders drafted Bo Jackson, but Allen showed his professionalism by volunteering to play fullback, where he showed another talent as a strong lead blocker for Jackson.
Davis reportedly considered Allen’s refusal to cross sides during the strike years, and his frequent holdouts, as personal betrayals.
“I think he has tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me, and tried to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame,” Allen told the Baltimore Sun.
The honeymoon was long over when Allen left the Raiders after the 1992 season and signed with the archrival Chiefs, playing five more productive seasons before announcing his retirement.
Allen finished his career with 12,243 yards rushing and 123 touchdowns, plus 587 receptions for 5,411 yards and 21 scores. In addition, he completed 12-of-27 passes for 282 yards and six touchdowns.
“He threw the football better than our quarterbacks,” Raiders defensive end Howie Long said.
Allen was a three-time All-Pro, played in six Pro Bowls, was NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year in 1985, Rookie of the Year in 1982, and Comeback Player of the Year in 1993, when he scored a career-high 15 touchdowns.
Other than playing against them while with the Chiefs, Allen had no real contact with the Raiders after leaving until owner Mark Davis, Al’s son, invited him to light the Al Davis Memorial Flame before a game at the Oakland Coliseum in 2012.
Even though Allen never played for the Raiders in Oakland, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
“Most fans want me to pick one (team) over the other and I never do that,” Allen said in 2019. “I embrace both teams. I enjoyed playing for both and I’ve had great experiences for both teams. So when they play each other I’m neutral, but when they’re playing someone else, I’m certainly rooting for both.”
Of course, Raider Nation sees Allen in Silver and Black.
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