Joseph Carl Allen (December 21, 1955 – March 31, 2021) was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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). He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 11th round of the 1977 NFL Draft but played his entire career with 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 ...

. He played college football at

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

NFL career

After being selected by the Bengals, Allen was traded to the Cardinals for a future draft pick on August 30, 1977. He had his only career touchdown on a 70-yard

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

return in a September 28, 1980, game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. Allen was placed on injured reserve on November 18, 1981, due to a knee injury against the Buffalo Bills.

Retirement

Allen retired in St. Louis where he taught and coached in the Jennings School District. He served as quarterback and defensive back coach and was part of five district championships and the first non-conference championship in 2006. He retired from coaching in 2012 and retired from teaching in 2020. Carl Allen died March 31, 2021, at the age of 65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Carl 1955 births 2021 deaths American football cornerbacks Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players San Antonio Gunslingers players Pittsburgh Gladiators players Players of American football from Hattiesburg, Mississippi