Tuesday started out as just another day at Sportsnet. Nothing huge was on the schedule, so I started working on a CFL season preview piece.
All of a sudden, word came down from the bad boys at Sportsnet that Damon Allen was retiring. Next thing I know I was working like mad to put together a Damon Allen career retrospective. Wednesday, Allen will say goodbye to the Argos and say goodbye to his remarkable 22-year football career.
Blessed with rare genetics, Allen broke into the CFL in 1985. Consider this. Allen was named the outstanding offensive player in the 1987, the 1993 and the 2004 Grey Cup. Allen threw for more yards than any other quarterback in the history of pro football.
Allen’s dad swung a hammer in the hot Southern California sun for years in order to provide a good home for his family. Allen’s dad also infused his sons Damon and Marcus with the kind of drive and work ethic necessary to make it in pro football.
Putting the piece together, it was amazing to see some of the old footage of a young Allen gliding around his offensive tackle to break off a long run. I say “glide” because that’s the only word I can come up with to describe the smooth way in which Allen used to run through CFL defences. I can still remember like it was yesterday when Allen came off the bench in the 1987 Grey Cup and led the Eskimos to an incredible win over the Argos.
After a solid stint with the BC Lions, Allen arrived in Toronto in 2003 amid whispers around the league that he was washed up. At the age of 41 he led the Argos to the Grey Cup and was named the game's top player. At the age of 42 he won his first and only Most Outstanding Player award of his career.
Approaching his 45th birthday, father time has finally caught to up the seemingly ageless Allen. I find it hard to believe the CFL will ever see another quarterback who plays as long and puts together the kind of epic numbers that Allen accumulated over two-plus decades of pro football.
I have had the pleasure to get to know Allen over the years. Of all the stories that come to mind when talking about his career, there is one that sticks out above the rest. Two nights before the 2004 Grey Cup, the Argos held a team dinner. Damon Allen stood up and looked each and every player in the eye and told them he didn’t want to win Sunday’s game for himself. He said he wanted to win that game for all of them. Receiver Michael Palmer told me next year at training camp that he got a lump in his throat when Allen gave his speech. It was a great example of the kind of leadership that Allen was never given proper credit for.
Allen is not a man or a player without fault. But no one can ever take away his incredible career numbers.
More importantly, no once can ever deny the fact that Damon Allen took his game to another level in the Grey Cup.
--Jim "Clubber" Lang
One of Sportsnet's most versatile reporters, Jim covers the Leafs beat, can be seen regularly on Connected and can be read weekly on Sportsnet.ca.
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