Mark Bennett: Once considered too small, Vincent Allen deserves chance at College Football Hall

Jun. 10—As Hauteans, we were spoiled in the 1970s. And it was great.

Music legends performed in Hulman Center month after month. Comedian Steve Martin kept a running faux feud with Terre Haute.

And Indiana State University athletics reached a level that Sports Illustrated kept tabs on the exploits of Sycamore All-Americans such as Larry Bird, Kurt Thomas and Bruce Baumgartner.

Most Hauteans figured the town would be experiencing such heady stuff for decades to come. The wisest among us just appreciated it all while it lasted.

That era features yet another '70s ISU All-American who put his name in Sports Illustrated's pages a few times as a football player.

Vincent Allen outran and eluded defenders on Saturday afternoons at Memorial Stadium as a star running back for the Sycamores from 1973 to '77. Allen's last mention in SI came after his final game, a 27-16 loss to Louisville in November 1977. Allen ran for 128 yards, 122 of those after halftime.

Then SI added this line: "Allen thus finished the season with 1,026 yards and his career with 4,335 to become the fourth NCAA Division I runner to have four 1,000-yard years."

It was an elite group that included University of Pittsburgh runner Tony Dorsett, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer and College Football Hall of Famer. Since then, the group has grown to 20 quadruple 1,000-yard rushers at the two levels of Division I football, according to numbers crunched Tuesday by NCAA director of statistics David Worlock.

Allen played at a lofty plateau. As a junior, The Associated Press named him to its Little All-America First Team in 1975. A year before, Allen would've been an AP First Teamer as a sophomore, too, but got nudged to the Second Team by a nifty Jackson State senior named Walter Payton.

This week, the College Football Hall of Fame the ballot of nominees for induction to its 2023 class. Vincent Allen has never been nominated for induction, officials at the college hall confirmed Wednesday. He deserves the chance, and it appears he'll finally get that opportunity.

ISU is taking the required steps to nominate Allen for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, 26 years after inducting him into the university's Athletics Hall of Fame.

"We're honored to be moving forward with a nomination for Vincent Allen for the College Football Hall of Fame," athletic director Sherard Clinkscales said later Wednesday by email.

As evidence of Allen's worthiness, Clinkscales cited a particular element of Allen's remarkable legacy. Allen tore the cruciate ligament and cartilage in his knee in a loss at Tulsa in the penultimate game of the '75 season, his junior year.

"Back in those days, those injuries were devastating," Allen, now 67 and retired, recalled Thursday from his home in Richmond.

The team surgeon for the St. Louis Cardinals NFL team performed surgery on Allen, and it worked. He sat out the 1976 season to rehabilitate, then returned in 1977 and topped the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth time.

That's impressive. Allen had 26 games with 100 or more rushing yards in fewer than 40 games at running back.

"Vincent was a standout player on the field and a leader during his time with the Sycamores, which led to his being named to the ISU Hall of Fame in 1998," Clinkscales said. "His story and how he came back from what was thought to be a career-ending injury to finish first all-time in ISU history in rushing yards, scoring, and touchdowns is a mark that likely will never be surpassed. We look forward to seeing his progress throughout the nomination process."

Nearly a half-century after he played, Allen's ISU school records remain for career rushing yards (4,335), touchdowns (33), total yards (5,435) and several other rushing categories.

"When you look at the top of the ISU record books, you see the name Vincent Allen in multiple categories," current Sycamore head football coach Curt Mallory said via email. "As a player and leader on the team, Vincent truly embodies what is great about Sycamore football. His nomination is well-deserving and long overdue."

Because the College Hall of Fame's 2023 ballot of nominees is already set, Allen could be considered for the 2024 induction class, Hall officials said. Eligible players must have played their final season within the past 50 years, so Allen makes it with a few to spare. Should he not be selected in four years of balloting, Allen would drop into consideration by a separate Veterans Committee.

Allen is grateful people in Terre Haute simply still remember him.

"Anytime you can be recognized, especially as old as I am, [I'm] just thankful to still be around," he said, chuckling. "[College Football Hall of Fame induction] would definitely be an honor, if it were to happen."

That said, Allen added, "I don't try to advertise that myself."

He understands being underestimated and overlooked. Allen stood 5 foot, 7 inches tall, though ISU listed him as 5-8. He came to the university as a record-setting running back and defensive back at Richmond High School, figuring he'd be playing defense because of his size. That's what happened, initially.

While playing defensive back early in his freshman season, Allen intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown. "The next day, they had my equipment cleaned out of the defensive side of the lockerroom," he said. The Sycamore coaches shifted him to running back, and when the junior starter got injured, Allen stepped in.

"I got the chance to come in and played that position, and I never gave it up after that," he said.

His size and the knee injury, despite his recovery, likely prevented Allen from getting drafted by an NFL team. Still, he played parts of two seasons in the Canadian Football League and then signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Bears in 1980. Allen ran as a backup to Walter Payton, the same guy who'd bumped him from the AP All-America First Team lineup six years earlier.

Allen impressed Payton. "He told me I reminded him of his little brother, Eddie Payton, who also played in the NFL," Allen said. Allen's stint with the Bears was brief. He got released after the second preseason game, and instead the team kept another rookie back, Matt Suhey.

But Payton encouraged Allen, telling him he'd had a "great, great camp." That NFL opportunity and those interactions with Payton — a Bears icon who died in 1999 — remain a cherished memory for Allen.

"To go to the highest level, and to be there for awhile, was really special," Allen said.

Forty-two years later, Allen enjoys offering instructions to youth and high school football teams. He copes with diabetes and lost a toe as a result, but his spirits are strong. A spot in the College Football Hall of Fame would be wonderful, yet he's at peace and just happy to be alive.

"Anytime I look myself in the mirror, I always say, 'I did the best I could,'" Allen said.

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.