The legendary Eagles cornerback caught up with John Clark to discuss his potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and his thoughts on Sunday’s matchup with the Packers.
NEW ORLEANS – Eric Allen is a Hall of Famer.
Finally.
Allen, the brilliant cornerback who spent his first seven seasons with the Eagles, was among four former players selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025. This year’s inductees were announced Thursday night as part of NFL Honors at Saenger Theater, a few blocks from where Allen turned in one of the most memorable interceptions of his career.
Also selected to the Class of 2025 were Jared Allen, Sterling Sharpe and Antonio Gates. The enshrinement ceremony will be held in August in Canton, Ohio.
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This was Allen’s second year as a finalist and his 19th year of eligibility. Players have 20 years of eligibility in the modern-era category once they become eligible for consideration five years after they retire. After that, they move on to the Seniors Committee, where it’s much more difficult to make it to Canton because of the sheer number of candidates.
So he was running out of time.
Allen is the 11th player selected by the Eagles in the draft who played for the Eagles to become a Hall of Famer, following Steve Van Buren, Pete Pihos, Chuck Bednarik, Tommy McDonald, Sonny Jurgensen, Bob Brown, Harold Carmichael, Reggie White, Cris Carter and Brian Dawkins. Two others drafted by the Eagles – George McAfee in 1940 and Lou Creekmur in 1948 – became Hall of Famers but never played for the Eagles.
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Others who played for the Eagles and are in the Hall include Jim Ringo, Alex Wojciechowicz, Claude Humphrey, Ollie Matson, Bill Hewitt, Norm Van Brocklin, Terrell Owens, Mike Ditka, Richard Dent, James Lofton and Art Monk.
Allen had been one of the more egregious Hall of Fame snubs of his generation.
He’s the only cornerback in NFL history with at least 54 regular-season interceptions and eight TD returns who hadn’t been selected, and he wasn’t even a finalist until last year, in his 18th year of eligibility.
The Hall of Fame selection committee began the selection process with a list of 167 nominees, then reduced that throughout the fall to 50 and then 25 semifinalists before determining the final list of 15 finalists.
Allen, the Eagles’ 2nd-round pick in 1988 out of Arizona State, had 58 interceptions and nine touchdown returns including the postseason in a brilliant 14-year career. He had more interceptions than 22 of 37 defensive backs already enshrined.
Allen made a splash as a rookie with five interceptions for the 1988 NFC East champs and then added eight in 1989, 2nd-most in the NFL behind Browns safety Felix Wright. He was named to the first of his six Pro Bowl teams and 1st-team All-Pro.
In the Eagles’ 1992 wild-card game at the Superdome, where the Eagles will face the Chiefs Sunday in Super Bowl LIX, Allen capped a wild 26-0 fourth quarter with an 18-yard pick-6 off Bobby Hebert. That was the first INT return for a touchdown in Eagles postseason history.
In 1993, Allen had six interceptions and returned four for touchdowns, at the time an NFL single-season record (since broken by DaRon Bland of the Cowboys).
He left Philadelphia after the 1994 season as the final star from the Buddy Ryan Era to bolt via free agency during the great migration under former owner Norman Braman. He finished his career with three seasons with the Saints and four with the Raiders.
Allen shares the Eagles franchise interception record of 34 with Bill Bradley and Brian Dawkins. His five interception touchdown returns with the Eagles are a club record, one more than Malcolm Jenkins.
Two other former Eagles will be coming up in front of the selection committee in the next several years. Jason Peters will be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration in 2028 — assuming he doesn’t play again — and Jason Kelce will be eligible in 2029.
Another long-time Eagle — linebacker Maxie Baughan — failed to make the Hall this year as a seniors committee finalist. Baughan, the Eagles’ 2nd-round pick in 1960, spent the 1960 through 1965 seasons with the Eagles and made his first five of nine 1st-team All-Pro selections as an Eagle.
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