CANTON, Ohio – After waiting nearly a quarter of a century, the greatest cornerback in Eagles history finally became a Hall of Famer Saturday.
Eric Allen, voted into the Hall of Fame this year with only one remaining year of eligibility, unveiled his Hall of Fame bust as over 100 Hall of Famers sat behind him on a huge stage at McKinley High School’s Fawcett Stadium.
On a beautiful afternoon where the NFL was founded 105 years ago, Allen spoke about discovering football as a kid in San Diego, he spoke about how his high school coaches got him pointed in the right direction and he spoke about his days at Arizona State.
But he saved some of his most powerful words reflecting on his seven years with the Eagles.
“Thank you to the legend, Buddy Ryan, for drafting me in 1988,” Allen said as a large Philly contingent roared. “It was an honor to wear those Kelly Greens and represent the city of brotherly love.
“Whether it was Buddy’s Boys or Bud Carson’s Gang Green, we did so much damage on the football field. All us Eagle guys, we had just an outstanding defensive football team. Whether it was Seth, the late departed Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, Byron Evans, just a tremendous football team in Philadelphia.”
Joyner, Simmons, Evans and Keith Byars were among Allen’s former Eagles teammates in attendance.
From 1989 through 1993, the Eagles had the NFL’s best defense, and Allen was in the middle of all of it.
He shares the franchise interception record of 34 with Brian Dawkins and Bill Bradley, and including three years with the Saints and four with the Raiders, he finished his career with 54 interceptions, plus four more in the postseason.
Those teams only won one playoff game – a wild-card game at the SuperDome in 1992, when Allen had one of his nine career pick-6’s – but that defense is revered to this day by Eagles fans because of its ferocious, physical brand of football and the unforgettable personalities of guys like Allen, Joyner and the late Wes Hopkins and Andre Waters.
“They’ll always hold a special part in our lives,” Allen said of his Eagles teammates. “I grew up there in Philadelphia – with the help of guys like Mike Quick, Roynell Young. I became a man there. We had so many special times in that area, in Philly.”
Allen was only with the Eagles for one season after Jeff Lurie bought the team, but he made sure to salute the man who saved the franchise after previous owner Norman Braman left it in shambles.
“Jeffrey Lurie is not here today, but I have a special gratitude to the Philadelphia Eagles’ organization and the tremendous football team that they put on the football field this year,” he said. “I want to say fly, Eagles, fly.”
Allen is only the fourth defensive Hall of Famer the Eagles have ever drafted, following Chuck Bednarik, White and Brian Dawkins. And he’s only the ninth player in franchise history who spent more than five years with the Eagles to make the Hall of Fame.
Along with Asante Samuel and Deion Sanders, he’s one of only three cornerbacks in history with 58 interceptions and nine pick-6’s, including postseason play.
“He was a consummate pro,” Joyner said before the enshrinement ceremony. “He was always seeking ways to get better, always working on his craft. He’s highly intelligent, and that’s probably one of the things that a lot of people don’t realize about him. Just how smart a player he was.
“Yeah, he had physical skills and Buddy was very good at identifying guys with physical skills and identifying guys with mental toughness. But his ability to think through a game, based upon his preparation, in my opinion, is what separated him from a lot of players in the league.”
Yet he had to wait 24 years to be welcomed into the hallowed halls.
Only three players voted in by the modern-era committee have waited longer.
“One thing they say you’re not supposed to do is promote yourself if you’re trying to get into the Hall of Fame,” said Joyner, Allen’s teammate from 1988 through 1993. “It doesn’t mean I can’t promote him.
“So every single year I’m promoting, promoting, promoting. I’m like, there’s no way when you look at the cornerbacks, the defensive backs over the last 10 years, 15 years that have gone in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there is no logical reason why Eric Allen hasn’t been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame a long time ago.
“Statistically, interceptions, Pro Bowls, body of work, every single thing that you can imagine, which leads you to wonder, ‘OK, what are the credentials that you have to have in order to be considered. Sometimes, a guy like Eric kind of gets pushed aside for some of those other guys to get in when he probably deserved to get in before the others did.”
But the waiting is finally over, and now Allen is a Hall of Famer.
“Deeply grateful for this incredible honor,” he said. “We all share a deep love and respect for the game of football, and it transcends time and place. Football calls for everything you got, and that’s what I tried to give.”
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