Legendary Arizona State football ballhawk dons gold jacket at Hall of Fame induction
Former Arizona State football defensive back Eric Allen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 2, in Canton, Ohio.
Allen played 14 years in the NFL, after a four-year run with the Sun Devils that finished with back-to-back top 20 finishes in the AP Poll (1986 and 1987). He won the Rose Bowl in 1986 with ASU, as well as the Freedom Bowl in 1987. The 1986 team won the Pac-10 and finished fourth in the final AP Poll.
Allen goes into the Hall as a Philadelphia Eagle, as he played with them for seven seasons.
Philadelphia's all-time pick-six leader (five), Allen led the NFL in 1993 with four interceptions returned for touchdowns on the Eagles. He had six interceptions that year. In three other years, he had five or more interceptions with Philly. He was named First-Team All-Pro in 1989, when he snagged eight interceptions for Philadelphia.
After his seven years with the Eagles, he played for the New Orleans Saints for three more years. He played the last four years of his NFL career with the Oakland Raiders and had two more five-plus interception seasons.
A corner his whole career, Allen's playoff production was there as well. Playing in nine games across six different postseasons, Allen recorded four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) with six passes defended.
Only missing seven total games across his 14-year career, he started all but three of the games he played in. He was a two-time Second-Team All-Pro selection (1991, 1993).
In Tempe, Allen picked off eight passes in 1987. Two of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns, which led the Pac-10. Both that interception total and that pick-six total ranked fourth in the NCAA.
Arizona State has now produced six Pro Football Hall of Fame players. That is tied for ninth in the country with LSU, Penn State and UCLA.
The other inductees this year were Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe and Chargers tight end Antonio Gates.