LA Chargers countdown to 2020: Best number 50 in team history

We are 50 days away from the LA Chargers being back in action.

Counting today, there are officially 50 days until the LA Chargers‘ scheduled Week 1 showdown against first overall pick Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. That is as long as the 2020 season goes forward as planned, of course.

To count down the 2020 season we have been naming the best players in team history to wear each number that coincides with the number of days remaining until that Week 1 matchup.

We are officially at the halfway mark of this series as we started with the number 99 and are now on the number 50. If the second half goes as quickly as the first half then trust us when we say that football will be here before you know it.

The number 50 is a close battle as well between two solid players. However, one has to be named as the best.

The best number 50 in LA Chargers history: Chuck Allen

Chuck Allen was selected in the 28th round of the 1961 AFL Draft by the Chargers and spurned the Los Angeles Rams, who also drafted Allen in the 1961 NFL Draft.

Allen instantly became a starter for the Chargers and the middle linebacker spent nine seasons with the Bolts. His first five seasons is where he made his legacy with the Chargers, as he was one of the best linebackers in the AFL in the early 1960s.

Legendary numbers that deserve to be retired

Allen is a two-time Pro Bowler, in 1963 and 1964, and has 20 career interceptions with the Chargers, a number that is really high for a linebacker. Overall, he accumulated 57 career Approximate Value with the Bolts.

Right behind him is Gary Plummer, who finished his Charger career with 50 career Approximate Value. Plummer has also a solid linebacker for the Chargers and was on the team from 1986 to 1993. He went on to win a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, against the Chargers.

Current Charger fans definitely remember Plummer more than they do Allen but there are two things that give Allen the slight nod over Plummer outside of the AV. First, Allen won the AFL Championship with the Bolts, which is important. Second, Allen was a two-time Pro Bowler, whereas Plummer never made the Pro Bowl.

Granted, the competition in Plummer’s era was better than that of Allen’s era, but that still does not take away from the accolades, both individual and as a team, that Allen has that Plummer did not have with the Bolts.