Allen Leldon Green (February 15, 1938 – February 14, 2023) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a punter and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

Early life

Green attended Hanceville High School before moving on to the

. He played as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, but got an opportunity to start kicking

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

s as a senior. On October 26, 1960, he was named Lineman of the Week by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, after making his first field goal in an official game and contributing to a controversial last second upset of the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

10-7. Against

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, he made another last second field goal (a career-high 41 yards) to tie the game 6-6. Green contributed to the team finishing with a 10–0–1 record, with the lone blemish the 6-6 tie against an inferior LSU squad (the Tigers went 5-4-1 after winning 20 of 22 games in 1958 and 1959). They also won the

1961 Sugar Bowl The 1961 Sugar Bowl featured the second-ranked Ole Miss Rebels and the unranked Rice Owls. After winning the game, the Rebels were named national champion by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), although Minnesota was the pick of ...

, defeating

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

14-6, the SEC championship and were recognized as

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

Professional career

New York Giants

Green was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the eighth round (109th overall) of the

1961 NFL Draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regula ...

. Green was sent to the

in a three-team deal on July 5,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

. The Redskins acquired

Fred Dugan John Frederick Dugan (May 12, 1933 – March 3, 2018) was an American football end. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football ...

John Aveni John Patrick Aveni (March 17, 1935 – January 20, 2002) was an American football placekicker and tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. Early life Aveni was born in Glassboro, New J ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Dave Whitsell David A. Whitsell (June 14, 1936 – October 7, 1999) was an American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, and the New Orleans Saints. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 196 ...

and

offensive end An end in American and Canadian football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that a legal offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage and ...

Jerry Daniels. The

obtained

Joe Walton Joseph Frank Walton (December 15, 1935 – August 15, 2021) was an American football player and coach who retired after 20 years as the head coach and creator of the football program at Robert Morris University. Walton played eight seasons in t ...

and

Jim Podoley James Podoley (September 16, 1933 – January 24, 2010) was an American football halfback and end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Mount Morris, Michigan, he played college football at Central Michigan ...

. The Cowboys received Green and a sixth round pick for the

1962 NFL Draft The 1962 National Football League draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him ...

that the team later used to draft

George Andrie George Joseph Andrie (April 20, 1940 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to his professional career he played college football at Marquett ...

Dallas Cowboys

, he was given the punting duties from Dave Sherer. He was also the starting kicker until

Dick Bielski Richard Adam Bielski (born September 7, 1932) is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Colts. Bielski played college ...

took over for the final five games. Green made a last second field goal in the season opener against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, to earn the Cowboys first ever victory (27-24). On October 29, he made another tie-breaker field goal in the last minutes of the game against the

for a 17-16 win. On April 27, 1962, he was traded to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in a three-team deal, with the Cowboys acquiring

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Dick Nolan Rick Nolan is a Minnesota politician. Richard Nolan may also refer to *Dick Nolan (American football) (1932–2007), American football player, father of Mike Nolan, former head coach of San Francisco 49ers *Dick Nolan (musician) (1939–2005), Cana ...

and the

obtaining a draft pick from the Packers.

Green Bay Packers

Green was waived by the

on August 19,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

Personal life and death

Green died on February 14, 2023, one day before his 85th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Allen 1938 births 2023 deaths People from Hanceville, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football punters Ole Miss Rebels football players Dallas Cowboys players