James Allen (March 6, 1952 - December 21, 2019[1]) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL draft.
| No. 45, 40, 35 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | March 6, 1952 Clearwater, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | December 21, 2019 (aged 67) | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 194 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California) | ||||||||
| College: | UCLA | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1974 / round: 4 / pick: 100 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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A 1970 graduate of Los Angeles High School, Allen played college football at Pierce College and the University of California, Los Angeles.[2] He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in their celebrated 1974 draft. Allen played for the Steelers for four seasons, where he was a member of their Super Bowls IX & X teams. He was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1978. His nickname during his playing career was "Spiderman." He was the lead singer on the Lions' 1980 recording of Another One Bites the Dust. Briefly homeless at one time, Allen lived in southern California.[3] Allen was elected to the Pierce College Hall of Fame in 2012.[4]
References
edit- ^ Former Detroit Lions S Jimmy ‘Spiderman’ Allen dies
- ^ "L.A. High Sports Success!". UCLA. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^ John Bennett (2004). "Spiderman The Jimmy Allen Story" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ^ "LAPC - [ Athletics]". info.piercecollege.edu. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
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