 Allen during his basketball career at Kentucky | |||||||
| No. 66 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | (1918-12-25)December 25, 1918 Kyles Ford, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||
| Died: | February 9, 1988(1988-02-09) (aged 69) Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 165 lb (75 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Morristown (Morristown, Tennessee) | ||||||
| College: | Kentucky | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 1947: 3rd round, 18th pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
As a player: | |||||||
As a coach: | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| As player: As coach:
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Ermal Glenn Allen (December 25, 1918 – February 9, 1988) was anAmerican footballquarterback and assistant coach. He grew up inTennessee and attended theUniversity of Kentucky, where he played basketball, track, golf, and football. After four years in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II, Allen was drafted in 1947 by theChicago Cardinals of theNational Football League (NFL). He instead went to play for theCleveland Browns of the competingAll-America Football Conference, who won the league championship that year.
Allen played in Cleveland for one season, returning to the University of Kentucky in 1948 to serve as an assistant football coach underBear Bryant. He stayed at Kentucky afterBlanton Collier took over as head coach in 1954, working as the team's defensive coordinator. In 1962,Tom Landry hired him as a backfield coach on the NFL'sDallas Cowboys. He became the head of the Cowboys' research and development department in 1970 and was charged with scouting opponents. Allen wonSuper Bowl VI andSuper Bowl XII with the Cowboys and remained with the team until retiring in 1983. He died of cancer in a Dallas hospital in 1988.
Allen grew up inMorristown, Tennessee and was a star athlete atMorristown High School.[1] He attended theUniversity of Kentucky, where he played football, basketball, track and golf.[1] He was on the varsity football team between 1939 and 1941, playing as atailback under head coachA. D. Kirwan.[1] The team finished with winning records in each of the seasons Allen played, but was not ranked in theAP Poll of the best college teams in the country.[2][3] Allen was atriple threat man, handling passing, running and kicking duties for Kentucky.[4]
Allen was a member of a Kentucky golf team that lost only one match in 1940 and went undefeated in 1941 and 1942.[1] He played varsity basketball between 1940 and 1942, earning a spot on theSoutheastern Conference all-star team in his final year.[1] Allen's college career was interrupted by service in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II. He enlisted in 1942 and spent four years in the Army, rising to the rank ofmajor.[1]
Allen returned to the University of Kentucky to finish his education and play a final year of football. A controversy developed, however, over his eligibility to play in 1946 because he had already played three varsity seasons before enlisting.[1] Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Conner ruled him ineligible in September, shortly after he had been certified to play based on a rule that gave four years of varsity eligibility to men who served in the war.[5] Several days later, he was again ruled eligible by the conference's executive committee. Kentucky head coachBear Bryant said he was "delighted" with the decision.[6] After quarterbacking Kentucky to victories over theUniversity of Mississippi andUniversity of Cincinnati, the conference reversed its decision and declared him ineligible.[1][7] He spent the rest of the year coaching backs under Bryant.[1]
Allen was drafted by theChicago Cardinals of theNational Football League (NFL) in 1947 but instead joined theCleveland Browns of the competingAll-America Football Conference (AAFC).[1][8] He competed to be a backup for starting quarterbackOtto Graham in the team'sT formation offense.[8] Allen struggled to learn Cleveland's formations, which differed significantly from thesingle-wing formation his Kentucky teams used.[8] Allen had four completions in limited playing time for Cleveland as the team finished the season with the 12–1–1 record and beat theNew York Yankees in the championship game.[9][10]
Allen returned to the University of Kentucky in 1948 and was named the football team's offensive coordinator under Bryant.[1]Blanton Collier, who had been a backfield coach for the Browns, succeeded Bryant as Kentucky head coach in 1954. Collier kept Allen on his staff but switched him to defensive coordinator.[1] Allen remained an avid golfer as he continued his coaching career, winning the Kentucky Amateur Golf Championship in 1955 and 1958. He came in second place in the tournament in 1956 and tied for first place in a tri-state championship.[1]
Allen left Kentucky in 1962 to become a backfield coach for the NFL'sDallas Cowboys under head coachTom Landry.[1] In 1970, he became a special assistant to Landry and headed the Cowboys' research and development department.[1] In that role, he was responsible for scouting all of the Cowboys' opponents.[11] The Cowboys wonSuper Bowl VI in 1972 while Allen was with the team.[12] Allen suffered a heart attack before the 1973 season, but remained with the team until 1983.[1][13]
Allen died ofcancer in 1988 at thePresbyterian Hospital of Dallas.[1] "He was a tremendous coach, as well as a real bright type of guy who had a statistical mind," Landry said after his death. "He could keep up with anything."[1] Landry also praised his sense of humor.[1] Eugene Meeks, who played college football with Allen, said he was one of Kentucky's best-ever athletes and a dominant golf player during his time at the university.[1]