60 Facts About Damon Allen

Damon L Allen was born on July 29,1963 and is an American former professional football quarterback.

Damon Allen played 23 years in the Canadian Football League.

Damon Allen is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he was surpassed for first place by the Montreal Alouettes' Anthony Calvillo on October 10,2011.

Damon Allen retired in third place in all-time CFL rushing yards with 11,920 yards, behind Mike Pringle and George Reed.

Damon Allen is the younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Damon Allen.

Damon Allen has been mentioned as one of the greatest CFL quarterbacks of all time after winning four Grey Cups with three different teams.

Damon Allen was a formidable passer and rusher, as he retired only 323 rushing yards behind his brother Marcus.

In 2018, Damon Allen was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Damon Allen started playing football by the age of six for Valencia Park's Pop Warner in San Diego.

In high school, Damon Allen was a fine two sport athlete.

Damon Allen was a first team all-CIF player and Tribune Athlete of the Year.

Damon Allen led his team to consecutive 2A Division CIF Football Championships.

Damon Allen was a First team All-CIF Utility Man which made him Tribune Athlete of the Year in his senior year.

Damon Allen went on to play college football for California State University, Fullerton.

Damon Allen broke a 26-year-old NCAA record throwing only three passes that were intercepted, in over 300 attempts and broke seven school records.

Damon Allen was a first team PCAA quarterback, and was named the UPI All West Coast team quarterback along with UNLV's Randall Cunningham.

Damon Allen was sixteenth in overall voting for the 1984 Heisman Trophy.

Damon Allen played in the Senior Bowl college All-Star game.

Damon Allen was not only an outstanding football player, he was a superior baseball player.

Damon Allen was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 Major League Baseball Draft in the seventh round, the same year the Tigers won the Major League Baseball World Series.

Damon Allen never signed a professional, major league baseball contract with the Tigers, but did sign one with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1993.

Damon Allen reported to the Pirates' spring training camp in 1994, but ultimately left their camp and decided to play in the Canadian Football League.

Damon Allen joined the CFL as a free-agent in 1985, signed by the Edmonton Eskimos, and threw for 661 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie season as a back-up to Matt Dunigan.

In 1990, Damon Allen set single season career highs in passing yards and touchdowns, and rushing yards and touchdowns.

Damon Allen's contributions helped Ottawa make the playoffs for the first time since the 1985 season.

In 1991, Damon Allen set single season career highs in passing yards, and rushing yards and touchdowns.

Damon Allen was named an Eastern Division All-Star for the first time in his CFL career, and helped Ottawa make the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

That year, Damon Allen was the winner of the Eddie James Memorial Trophy, awarded to the leading rusher in the West Division, after he gained 920 yards.

In 1994, Damon Allen led the Esks to the Western Division Semi-Finals, only to lose to the BC Lions.

In 1995, Damon Allen signed as a free-agent with the Memphis Mad Dogs.

Damon Allen appeared in 15 games with the CFL expansion team, and threw for 3,211 yards and 11 touchdowns on 228 of 390 passing.

Damon Allen rushed for 427 yards in his only professional season in the United States.

Damon Allen threw for 4,219 yards on 315 of 521 passing with 22 touchdowns, ran the ball 136 times for 785 yards and 8 touchdowns, and threw for more than 300 yards on five occasions.

Damon Allen was voted to the CFL's West Division All-Star team.

In 2000, Damon Allen became the CFL's all-time leading passer on October 28 against Hamilton, throwing for 345 yards to surpass Ron Lancaster's previous record of 50,535 yards.

Damon Allen completed 324 of 525 passes to lead the CFL with a career-high 4,840 passing yards.

Damon Allen was nominated as the Lions' Most Outstanding Player at the CFL Player Awards.

Damon Allen captured his first Grey Cup with the Lions throwing for 234 yards in a win over the Montreal Alouettes.

In 2003, after the acquisition of Dave Dickenson as their new quarterback, the 39-year-old Damon Allen was traded from the BC Lions to the Toronto Argonauts for a second-round draft pick in the 2004 CFL Draft, and a third-round pick in the 2005 CFL Draft.

In Week 7, Damon Allen became only the third quarterback in professional football history to pass for 60,000 yards against his former club, the BC Lions.

In Week 17, Damon Allen dressed as the third quarterback for a game against the BC Lions.

In Week 18, Damon Allen dressed as the backup quarterback behind Michael Bishop and entered the game versus the Calgary Stampeders at the end of the second quarter.

Damon Allen completed his first thirteen pass attempts, making him the second quarterback in Argonaut history to complete more than 12 passes consecutively in a game.

Damon Allen led the Argos to their fifteenth Grey Cup Championship and won his fourth championship.

Damon Allen finished the game with 23 of 34 pass completions for 299 yards and 1 touchdown pass, and rushed 5 times for 10 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns.

Damon Allen continued his assault on the record books during the 2005 CFL season.

In 2005, Damon Allen won his first CFL's Outstanding Player Award.

In 2006, Damon Allen started the opening home game of the season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and broke the middle finger on his right hand on Toronto's third play.

Damon Allen was injured trying to break his fall after taking a late hit from Hamilton safety Wayne Shaw, who was penalized on the play.

On September 4,2006, at the Labour Day Classic against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Damon Allen broke Warren Moon's record to become professional football's all-time passing leader.

Damon Allen's triumphant pose with the record-breaking football was captured by a photographer and later released by the Argos as a commemorative poster on their website.

On January 18,2007, Damon Allen underwent successful surgery to repair the middle finger of his throwing hand and was back in the gym training, in less than 24 hours.

On February 28,2007, Damon Allen re-signed a contract with the Argonauts for one year plus an option.

Damon Allen started the 2007 season as the Argos starting quarterback beating out Michael Bishop and former NFL starter Mike McMahon.

Damon Allen was then bumped down to third on the depth chart.

However, after Bishop went down with a wrist injury and McMahon failed to impress, Damon Allen stepped into the starting role .

Damon Allen was placed on the nine-game injured list and Rocky Butler took over as the Argos starting quarterback.

Damon Allen announced that his retirement as a player on May 28,2008, but will stay with the Argos as a special advisor to CEO Pinball Clemons.

In 2018, Damon Allen was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Damon Allen is employed as special assistant to the GM of the Toronto Argonauts.