COLLEGE STATION--Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Famer Grady Lynn Allen died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack last week in the Dallas area.

Allen, 66 (date of birth: Jan. 1, 1946), was a rugged defensive end for the Texas A&M football from 1965-67. He earned consensus All-Southwest Conference honors as a senior when he helped lead the Aggies to the 1967 SWC Championship and the school's first berth in the Cotton Bowl in more than 25 years. Allen and the Aggies upset Paul "Bear" Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide, 20-16, in the 1968 Cotton Bowl.

A team captain as a senior, Allen also received the Aggie Heart Award, which is the most coveted and cherished honor given to a Texas A&M football player and is based on effort, desire, determination, competitiveness, leadership and courage. He was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.

After graduation, Allen played five seasons in the National Football League, and competed in 59 games during that span for the Atlanta Falcons. Allen remained involved with Texas A&M athletics throughout his life, and served as the President of the Texas A&M Lettermen's Association in 2006.

Born in St. Augustine, Texas, Allen was a graduate of Nacogdoches High School. Allen and his wife, Kay, lived in Hurst, Texas, and have three children: Geoff, Dennis and Ann Marie. Dennis Allen also played football for the Aggies in the mid-1990s and currently serves as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.