The San Diego Chargers announced Thursday that former linebacker Chuck Allen died at 77.
Allen, who was a key member of the 1963 AFL Championship team and a member of the team’s Hall of Fame, played for the Chargers from 1961 to 1969.
“On behalf of the Spanos family and the entire Chargers organization, we’d like to express our deepest sympathies to the Allen family,” stated Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos. “Allen’s quiet disposition hid a great competitor whose talents and leadership on the field helped the Chargers become the AFL Champions in 1963 and cemented his place in the Chargers Hall of Fame.”
A 28th-round draft choice from the University of Washington, he also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, and served as assistant general manager for the Seattle Seahawks for more than a decade.
Allen intercepted 21 passes during his time in San Diego, which were the most by any Chargers linebacker and the fifth-highest total in franchise history when he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1984.
“Chuck is a fabulous guy; a perfect individual,” Hall of Fame Head Coach Sid Gillman once said. “He was about as fine a linebacker at his size that you could find.”
