The Return of the King

The legendary Damon Allen is scheduled to return on Saturday to the CFL playing field as the Toronto Argonauts travel to Regina to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Allen will be the number three quarterback for the Argos.

Damon was born in San Diego, CA on 29 July 1963. His love of football started at the age of six, when he played for Valentica Park Pop Warner, then playing the position of safety. His team made it to the championship game only to lose.

He became a quarterback in Jr. Peewee where he led his team to winning the national championship. In his tenure in the league, he led his team to two undefeated seasons and three national championships.

Damon, the younger brother of Marcus Allen, is well on his way to passing his bother in rushing yards. Marcus finished his career with 12,243 yards in rushing. As of today, Damon is over 10,000 yards rushing, as a quarterback. This puts him as the third highest rusher in CFL history. He is the number one passer in any league, both the CFL and NFL, with 69,273 yards. In this, his 22nd year in the CFL, Damon should establish marks well out of reach for any quarterback for some time to come.

Since joining the CFL as a free agent in 1985, the 42-year old Damon has played on six different CFL teams: the Edmonton Eskimos, the Ottawa Rough Riders, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Memphis Mad Dogs, the British Columbia Lions, and the Toronto Argonauts. He has amassed 4 Grey Cup championships, two Grey Cup MVP awards, and one CFL Most Outstanding Player Award.

This season, Damon Allen started for the Argos in the first game of the season. He broke his middle finger on his throwing hand while trying to break his fall on a late hit from a Hamilton defender.

But, these stats and outstanding sports achievement go largely un-noticed outside of Canada. Could you imagine the movie deals, pages of articles, endorsement contracts, etc. that he would garner if these stats were done on the NFL field instead?

Can you honestly say that this is not only a great athlete, but also maybe the 'King of Football'?

ALL HAIL THE KING! Let's see some more football action.