Anthony Derrick Allen (born June 29, 1959) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player who played wide receiver for five seasons for the Atlanta Falcons,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, and San Diego Chargers. He played college football at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

and was drafted in the sixth round of the

1983 NFL Draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

Professional playing career

Allen made his professional debut in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) in 1983. Allen was originally drafted by the USFL's

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

in the third round of the

1983 USFL Draft The 1983 USFL Draft was the first Collegiate Draft of the United States Football League (USFL). It took place on January 4, 1983, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American mu ...

. After being selected in the sixth round of the

, the Los Angeles Express acquired his USFL rights from the Bandits for a fourth-round pick the

1984 USFL Draft The 1984 USFL Draft was the second collegiate draft of the United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played ...

. He signed with the Express immediately and started the last eight games of the 1983 USFL season catching 37 passes for 613 yards and three touchdowns. In 1984, Allen started the season with the Express, however, was traded mid-season to the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

for a draft pick after eight games. The Panthers primarily acquired Allen to fill the void left when Panthers' star receiver Anthony Carter was lost for the season with a broken arm. Allen finished the season with 34 receptions for 535 yards and touchdowns. When the Panthers merged with the

Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can tra ...

prior to the 1985 USFL season, Allen was not protected in the merger and was selected in the dispersal draft by the

Baltimore Stars The Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars were a professional American football team which played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Owned by real-estate magnate Myles Tanenbaum, they were the short-lived league's dominant ...

. He was released by the Stars and signed on with the

Portland Breakers The Portland Breakers were an American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, the franchise was previously in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers and ...

on April 3, 1985. He played six games (starting three) for the Breakers catching nine passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns before being released on May 14. In his first game as a wide receiver for the Redskins against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Allen had eight catches for 255 yards and three touchdowns, which is still a franchise record. It was the first game played during the

1987 NFL players' strike The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director De ...

. While with the Redskins, Allen won a Super Bowl.

Coaching career

From 2004 to 2010, Allen coached football at Garfield High School in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Anthony 1959 births Living people People from McComb, Mississippi American football wide receivers Atlanta Falcons players Los Angeles Express players Michigan Panthers players Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers players Players of American football from Mississippi San Diego Chargers players Washington Huskies football players Washington Redskins players High school football coaches in Washington (state) National Football League replacement players

Professional playing career

Coaching career

See also

References