Larry Allen, Dallas Cowboys’ Hall of Famer, dies suddenly at 52 on vacation in Mexico

offensive linemen. He passed away. 52 was his age.

The Cowboys reported that Allen passed away unexpectedly on Sunday while on vacation in Mexico with his family.

offensive linemen to ever play in the NFL,” the Cowboys said Monday. “His versatility and dependability were also

signature parts of his career. Through that, he continued to serve as inspiration for many other players, defining

what it meant to be a great teammate, competitor and winner.”

The Cowboys selected the former Sonoma State lineman in the second round in 1994, the year before the team won

its final five Super Bowl championships. Allen once bench-pressed 700 pounds in front of his stunned teammates,

who surrounded him afterward.

When the Minnesota Vikings faced the Cowboys, infamous trash-talker John Randle chose to keep quiet to avoid

upsetting Allen since he was so feared by his colleagues.

For The Associated Press’s 11-year-old Hall of Fame feature on Allen, one of Allen’s offensive line mentors, Nate

Newton, remarked, “He never said nothin’.” “From time to time, you would hear him laugh that old,

funny laugh he had or swear.”

Allen entered the Hall of Fame about a year after his mother died, knowing her presence would have helped him get

through a speech after a career spent trying to avoid the spotlight.

“I miss her,” Allen said before going into the hall. “Whenever I’d get nervous or had a big game and got nervous, I’d

give her a call, and she’d start making me laugh.”

The Cowboys were coming off consecutive Super Bowl wins when they drafted Allen. He was surrounded by Pro

Bowl offensive linemen but didn’t take long to get noticed, eventually making 11 Pro Bowls himself.

When it appeared like the New Orleans linebacker Troy Aikman was all he had to beat down the sideline, Allen

prevented a score late in his first year by bringing down Darion Conner. Power dominated the majority of the

remainder of his career: initially as a tackle, where the Cowboys anticipated

he would be a key player, and then as a guard.

The Hall of Fame noted in a statement, “The National Football League is filled with gifted athletes, but only a rare

few have combined the size, brute strength, speed, and agility of Larry Allen.” “His offensive lineman abilities

frequently defied comprehension and logic.”