James Allen is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who was drafted in the 4th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 in the 1974 NFL Draft

1974 NFL Draft

The 1974 National Football League Draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams was granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks....

. A 1970 graduate of Los Angeles High School

Los Angeles High School

Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....

, Allen played college football at Pierce College

Pierce College

Pierce College is a community college district operating in and serving Pierce County in the U.S. state of Washington. The district consists of two main colleges, Pierce College Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood and Pierce College Puyallup in Puyallup, and auxiliary campuses at Fort Lewis, McChord Air...

 and UCLA

UCLA Bruins Football

The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...

. Allen was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in their celebrated 1974 draft

1974 NFL Draft

The 1974 National Football League Draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams was granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks....

. He 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

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 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 currently lives in southern California.