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Eccentric George Allen remembered as workaholic, motivator and winner.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
AKRON, Ohio _ Of all the unorthodox and sometimes wacky things Coach George Allen asked the Washington Redskins to do, former defensive back Brig Owens flashes back to a scene that cannot be dimmed by the passing of 30 years.
Owens remembers the entire team _ a/k/a the "Over the Hill Gang" _ standing shoulder to shoulder across the practice field at Redskin Park. In their hands were Popsicle sticks.
Covering every inch of ground, the players slowly moved down the field looking for holes that Allen feared would cause sprained ankles. They put a stick in each hole so the grounds crew could come through later and fill in every one.
The exercise said much about Allen, the coach and the man. He expected his players to pay attention to detail. After building the first NFL practice facility, he wanted its inhabitants to feel responsible for the plush surroundings. He stocked his team with veterans, believing that every rookie starter would account for one loss apiece, and didn't want one of his old reliables going down because of a bad step. And as obsessed as he was with winning, he was not an ogre, but was regarded by some as a father figure.
During a 12-year career with the Los Angeles Rams (1966-70) and Redskins (1971-77), Allen compiled a winning percentage of .705, No. 1 for coaches with more than 10 years in the league and fourth among those with at least 100 victories. He also had records of 22-14 in two years in the United States Football League with the Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers in 1983-84 and 6-5 in college with Long Beach State in 1990.
Allen, who died Dec. 31, 1990, at age 72, will be one of the five-member Class of 2002 inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday at Fawcett Stadium. Rams Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones, will present him, and Allen's son, George Jr., a U.S. senator from Virginia, will accept.
The legendary coach was an innovator, a motivator, a psychologist, a workaholic and above all, a winner. But he was also an eccentric.
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Source: HighBeam Research, Eccentric George Allen remembered as workaholic, motivator and...