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Hall of Famer Eric Allen thinks 50 picks in football is like 500 home runs in baseball
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- Hall of Famer Eric Allen thinks 50 picks in football is like 500 home runs in baseball
The middle of January is baseball weather in San Diego, where Eric Allen grew up playing it with love.
From afar as a lad, Allen enjoyed Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine." At home, he knew the entire Padres roster, his favorite playerbeing Dave Winfield, who eventually ended his career on Cleveland's great 1995 team.
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The gridiron, not the diamond, was the foundation of Allen's membership in the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025, but baseball never left him. He chose to play college football at Arizona State , drawn partly by the legend of "Mr. October."
Reggie Jackson was a star Pennsylvania high school running back in the 1960s who went to Arizona State on a football scholarship. Not interested in switching to defensive back, he quit football and joined the baseball team. That went well, leading to his nickname with the Yankees.
Football was the sport that got Allen his Arizona State scholarship, but baseball stayed on his mind.
"I told myself, you can walk on to play baseball," he said. "Arizona State's left fielder was Barry Bonds. The center fielder was Oddibe McDowell. The right fielders were Mike Kelly and Mike Devereaux."
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All of them went on to lengthy stints in the majors.
Eric Allen, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, unveils his case in the "Class of 2025" exhibit which displays artifacts from his career during an event at the Hall, May 24, 2025
"I had no shot," Allen said.
He stayed busy as a four-year cornerback. He led the nation in interception return yards as a senior.
Then, in 14 NFL seasons, he made 54 interceptions, returning eight for touchdowns.
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Eric Allen (21) returns an interception against the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 2, 1994, in San Francisco.
"I approached cornerback like a baseball player," he said. "In baseball, if you're a .300 hitter, that's pretty damn good.
"My mindset was, sometimes you're going to strike out. Hit when it counts. Make big plays. Interceptions are like home runs."
Allen used to think 50 interceptions all but guaranteed a place in Canton.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inductee Eric Allen speaks at a news conference after NFL Honors, Feb. 6, 2025, at Saenger Theatre, in New Orleans.
Mel Blount (57 interceptions), Aeneas Williams (55), Darrell Green (54), Ty Law (53), Champ Bailey (52), Donnie Shell (51) and Ronde Barber (47), for example, are in the Hall of Fame.
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In 2007, the year Allen (54) became eligible for the Hall, he obviously didn't get in. Cornerback Roger Wehrli (40) did.
In a career with the Eagles , Saints and Raiders, Allen thought he checked the boxes in all-around cornerback play. As a member of the 50-plus interception club, he saw himself in Canton sooner rather than later.
Eric Allen, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, helps to unveil the multi-case "Class of 2025" exhibit with artifacts from their careers at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, May 24, 2025, in Canton.
He likened 50 interceptions to 500 home runs in baseball.
"If you hit 500 home runs," he said, "you're in the Baseball Hall of Fame."
Generally, he's right, starting with Eddie Murray, who is in Cooperstown with 504 homers. Winfield is in with 465.
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Allen, 59, became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2007. During a spring visit to Canton, he seemed OK with his 18-year wait.
Eric Allen, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, and his wife, Lynn, look over his case in the "Class of 2025" exhibit with artifacts from his career during an event at the Hall, May 24, 2025, in Canton.
"I'm happy," he said. "This is the perfect time. My first team, the Eagles won the last Super Bowl. My kids are old enough to enjoy the moment."
Allen was drafted in 1988, going into the season quarterback Boomer Esiason led the Bengals to a Super Bowl. His most famous interception came in 1993, when Esiason was with the Jets.
Eagles QB Randall Cunningham broke a leg midway through the game. The Eagles trailed 30-28 late. Esiason had the ball just outside the red zone.
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"They ran play action," Allen said. "The receiver was on about the 10-yard line. It was an awkward throw, behind the receiver. I thought, well, let me just catch this thing.
"Everything went in slow motion. I could see the thread of the ball. As I caught it, everything went back to normal speed.
"I saw some of the Jets walking off, as if someone else was going to tackle me. I think, really? They don't think I'm going to do this?
"Teams tend to play it as if you'll run to the opposite sideline. I decided to get to the near sideline.
"I avoided a few players, and it opened up like the Pacific Ocean. As I'm running down the sideline, our bench is excited. As I run into the end zone, I see Randall in the tunnel, on crutches."
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At the end of his 94-yard pick six, Allen made his way to Cunningham and handed him the ball.
"Randall was a good teammate," he said. "He played like Lamar Jackson , before Lamar."
Darryl Rogers was Arizona State's coach when Allen made his first college interception in 1984. John Cooper was coach during Allen's remaining three years.
On Jan. 1, 1987, Allen helped stall Jim Harbaugh in a Rose Bowl win over Michigan, capping a 10-1-1 season.
That helped Cooper land the Ohio State job in 1988.
"We tell him that all the time," Allen said. "We had a lot of good players (including guard Randall McDaniel, a guard who landed in the Hall of Fame in 2009)."
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Allen was sandwiched between two memorable names in the 1988 draft, going to the Eagles at No. 30 overall, one spot after Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman went to Detroit, one spot before running back Ickey Woods went to Cincinnati.
Allen is remembered as a blend of speed, technique, timing and toughness in his stints with the Eagles (1988-94), Saints (1995-97) and Raiders (1998-2001).
He was a fixture first for Eagles coach Buddy Ryan on teams that went 31-17 from 1988-90, then for Rich Kotite on teams that went 29-19 from 1991-93.
From 1988 through 2000, Rod Woodson was the only player with more interceptions than Allen, 58-54.
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Cornerbacks comparable in combining career interceptions and pick-sixes include Aeneas Williams (55, 9), Deion Sanders (53, 9) and Allen (54, 8).
In 1993, Allen returned four interceptions for touchdowns, including the 94-yarder against Esiason. Steve Sabol of NFL Films called it "the greatest interception return in NFL history."
Eagles cornerback Eric Allen prepares for a snap against the Indianapolis Colts, Sept. 30, 1990, in Philadelphia.
Allen appeared in 216 of a possible 224 games across 14 seasons.
He was overshadowed by big-name defensive backs, including Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, Darrell Green and Ronnie Lott. The year he had had four pick sixes, the best he could do was second-team All-Pro, behind Woodson and Sanders.
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Allen broke into the NFL in a golden era for cornerbacks. In a 1988 game at Cleveland, the Browns' famous tandem of Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield accounted for two interceptions in a 19-3 victory. Allen returned a pick 20 yards in defeat.
Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025 Sterling Sharpe and Eric Allen joke during an event at the Hall, May 24, 2025, in Canton.
Allen played with defensive line superstar Reggie White in his first five years.
"After the big dog (White) went to Green Bay, I felt the responsibility of being a special player fell to me," Allen said.
That was the 1993 season when Allen went on his pick six spree, with Bud Carson, who had been a Browns head coach, as his defensive coordinator.
Eagles cornerback Eric Allen returns an interception 29 yards for a touchdown against Washington, Sept. 19, 1993, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Eagles won 34-31.
"I took a lot of pride," he said. "I was able to walk on the field and kind of dictate terms."
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Allen's last hurrah with the Eagles came in 1994 when the team roared to a 7-2 start. A 26-7 loss to Bill Belichick's Browns began a slide. He went to the Saints the next year.
He played in six different postseasons, with a 3-6 record. The closest he got to a conference championship was a 16-13 overtime loss to New England in the second round of the 2001 playoffs. It was his final NFL game.
He prefers to talk about his first game, on Sept. 4, 1988.
"The Eagles were at Tampa Bay," he said. "I was looking around at all of these amazing men. I thought to myself, I've come all this way.
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"I'd wondered how it would feel. It turned out I wasn't really nervous.
"One of their receivers was from Arizona State. From covering him in practices, I knew I was going to get the better of him.
"It was really calming, like, hey, I'm supposed to be here."
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com .
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Eagles Eric Allen joins Deoin Sanders in Pro Football Hall of Fame
