George Allen grew up around football. His father, also named George Allen, was famously an assistant coach with the NFL’s Chicago Bears, and later head coach for the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins.
Spending a lot of time in that atmosphere shaped the young George Allen’s worldview, especially after he entered politics.
First as a State Delegate in Virginia, then as the state’s Governor, and later one term as US senator. There was even a little talk about Alan running for president.
Allen frequently used sports analogies when talking politics, or making a point.
So, unsurprisingly perhaps, his 2010 book was called what Washington Can Learn From The World of Sports. I met him one day that summer in his office in Alexandria, Virginia to talk about it.
So here now, from 2010, George Allen.
George Allen is 73 now. He lives in Virginia Beach.