Team: Toronto Argonauts
Number/Position: #9 / QB
Date of Birth: July 29, 1963
When the Toronto Argonauts were faced with the prospect
of having to find a new quarterback for the 2003 season,
all of the stars lined up in perfect fashion. At about
the same time the Double Blue was looking for a pivot
to run the offence, the B.C. Lions were also in search
of a new QB. The Lions ended up with a reunion of sorts
when they brought Dave Dickenson back into the CFL fold
to be with Wally Buono, his coach from the Calgary days.
So the natural progression for Allen was to find a new
home. Turns out the timing was right, as the Argos were
more than willing to take on the veteran quarterback
to give him another taste of the CFL - Eastern style.
Although Allen spent three years in Ottawa in the late
80's the balance of his career has been played West
of Winnipeg, with two stops in Edmonton and brief appearances
in Memphis and Hamilton, both for a single season. Although
the Edmonton days remain the most memorable for Allen
because of his two Grey Cup wins there (in 1987 and
1993) the B.C. stage of his career proved to be the
longest and most productive. His most recent Grey Cup
victory came in a 28-26 nail-biting win in 2000 over
the Montreal Alouettes. In his seven seasons in Vancouver,
three times he recorded over 4,000 yards passing in
a single season. During three other seasons those totals
exceeded 3,000 passing yards. In short, an offensive
machine. Equally dangerous was the fact that Damon could
beat you with his arm or his legs. During that same
seven year span with the Leos, Allen rushed for over
700 yards on three occasions, the highest total being
during the 1997 season when he rang up 837 rushing yards.
The 2003 season featured a different challenge for
the affable veteran. In bringing his passing and rushing
talents to the Argos, Allen found himself in a new environment
with new receivers and the task of finding out what
his new teammates would be like. Not the kind of challenge
you would relish as an 18-year veteran. But Damon responded
to the challenge and the current season featured Allen
doing something only two others before him had accomplished.
Against his former B.C. Lions team, on August 1 Damon
became only the third professional football player to
pass the 60,000 yard mark in career passing yardage.
Pretty heady company, joining the likes of Warren Moon
and Doug Flutie. Interesting thing is that Damon is
the only player to have accomplished the feat while
playing his entire career in the CFL. He is also the
only one to have also rushed for over 10,000 career
yards. He also has Dan Marino's pro football career
mark of 61,361 career passing yards in his sights.
More importantly to Damon, the team player, is the
chance at another Grey Cup run. Having been involved
in two of the most exciting Grey Cup finishes of all
time (the 1987 final where he led the Eskimos to a thrilling
victory over Toronto and the 2000 final leading the
Leos to another thrilling finish in beating Montreal)
all that remains for Damon Allen is to solidify his
name in the record book and ensure his rightful place
in the Hall of Fame by adding one more Grey Cup title
to his resume.
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