A Loss and a Gain : After Mark Seay Lost a Kidney, George Allen Helped Him Resume Playing at Long Beach State. : Now Seay Is Catching On in NFL

More than the street thug who shot him, or the kidney he lost, or the niece’s life he saved, or the reluctant hero he has become, Mark Seay thinks about the coach who rescued him:

George Allen.

In the wake of Seay’s unexpected ascent to starting receiver for the San Diego Chargers, the media have returned to probe the particulars of Halloween night, 1988, when the then-Cal State Long Beach receiver went from innocent gang target to national hero.

Seay should put out a press-release, saying: “I was not a gang member. Bullets rang into my sister Mary’s Long Beach home. I dived to cover my 3-year-old niece, Tashawnda. Slug pierced my back, tore through kidney and lodged three inches from my heart.

“Tashawnda and I survived. My kidney did not.”

Seay has rehashed the play-by-play so often that he politely refers to it as his “situation” and prefers to leave it at that.

No, he does not consider himself a hero.

“Never got used to it, never will, to be honest,” he said. “But I’ll go with the flow. It’s a no-win situation for me.”

No, he doesn’t mind if others consider him one, even if one of those “others” includes Jerry Sullivan, the Chargers’ receiver coach.

“America should love this guy,” he said of Seay. “We’ve got people running around shooting each other. People are looking for role models. Here is a great, old, American success story.”

No, Seay said, the bullet still lodged in his chest doesn’t hurt; no, he does not feel the effects of playing with one kidney.

But yes, he does miss sharing all he has earned with the late George Allen, the legendary coach who went back to school in the twilight of life to save the Cal State Long Beach football program and a wide receiver.

“I always felt everything happens for a reason in your life,” Seay said. “There was a reason why Coach Allen came into my life. I used to tell Coach he was God-sent here for me. He’s the only person who could have helped out the way he did.”

He said Allen is the reason Seay (pronounced Say) of San Bernardino will make an emotional and triumphant return Sunday when the 3-0 Chargers play the 1-2 Raiders at the Coliseum.

Because Allen jumped in to cover Seay, so to speak, the wide receiver said he found the strength to pursue a pro football career against improbable odds.

On Sept. 4, at 27, after years of toil and doubt, Seay caught the first pass of his NFL career against Denver, a 29-yard scoring strike from quarterback Stan Humphries.

Afterward, Seay said private thank-yous to two men upstairs.

“It tied up a lot of loose ends,” Seay said of Allen and the catch.

The next week at San Deigo Jack Murphy Stadium, with his parents in the stands, Seay had eight receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns against Cincinnati.

Seay will start against the Raiders as the Chargers’ second-leading receiver with nine catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

Had he accepted conventional wisdom, Seay would be entering the Coliseum only as a paying customer.

“If (the doctors) would have convinced me, I would not have been here,” Seay said.

The ordeal of the Halloween shooting was difficult enough. After the shooting, Seay was hospitalized for 2 1/2 weeks. Then, it was another two months of soup and bed rest.

But another fight awaited.

In January, 1989, Seay returned to classes and rejoined the Long Beach football squad for spring practice, intending to play the 1989 season.

That June, though, he was declared medically ineligible by Long Beach officials. For the school, the memory of Todd Hart lingered. Hart, a former 49er player, was awarded a $2-million settlement from the state after he was paralyzed in a 1984 game against UCLA.

Some medical experts were concerned that Seay risked serious injury, playing with one kidney.

Seay said it was his risk. He sued the university in an effort to keep playing, but in September of 1989, a U.S. District judge denied the request for an injunction that would have permitted his return.

Then, in the winter of 1989, Seay’s godsend arrived.

Long Beach shocked most observers when it announced the hiring of George Allen, the former Ram and Washington Redskin coach.

The move temporarily saved the financially strapped football program, which has since been dropped.

Allen was several years removed from the game, in his 70s, and a controversial figure; a stubborn and stern ruler who had alienated so many that he essentially was exiled to his own football Elba.

But Allen changed Mark Seay’s fortunes. Soon after he was hired, Allen told Seay, “If they don’t let you play here, I can get you a shot in the NFL . . . but I know they’re going to let you play.”

Seay said it was Allen’s clout and behind-the-scenes maneuvering that led to the resolution of an ugly situation. In the spring of 1990, Seay settled his lawsuit with the school out of court and was allowed to rejoin the team.

“He cut through the red tape,” Seay said of Allen.

Seay agreed to sign a waiver absolving the university from liability should he be injured.

It was the beginning of a short but beautiful friendship.

They were a curious pair, Seay and Allen. Allen was 50 years older. As an NFL coach, Allen had no patience with younger players and was legendary for trading upstarts and draft choices for grizzled veterans.

But Seay was different.

“He might have thought, ‘Well this guy is a little tougher, he’s lived through a little bit more,’ ” Seay said, trying to explain why Allen was so fond of him.

Allen once said, “One of the highlights of my coaching career is having a guy like Mark Seay on my team.”

Bruce Allen, the coach’s son and Seay’s agent, said his father’s affection for Seay ran deep.

“With George, the persons who overcame adversity were the people he really respected,” Bruce said. “George thought of himself that way. With Mark, he had never seen somebody who would do anything in his power to be a football player.”

Seay won George Allen over early in the season, during a blowout loss to San Diego State in which Seay refused to quit.

Bruce rode back to Los Angeles with his father after the game.

“Dad said he’d never seen anybody like this guy,” Bruce Allen said. “He said, ‘We have to win for Mark.’ ”

Bruce Allen’s mother, Etty, cries every time Seay scores a touchdown.

“We’re all watching Dad’s last player play,” he said.

The feelings are mutual.

“He was so rare,” Seay said of his college coach. “He was a people person, a player’s coach. He didn’t care what anybody said. Nobody could change his mind about how he felt about you. And he let you know that. He was the biggest thing that ever happened to us. He was going to turn that program around.”

Seay returned for his junior season and earned second-team All-Big West honors. The 49er program was reborn under Allen.

The team posted its first winning season since 1986 with a dramatic victory over Nevada Las Vegas in the season finale.

Long Beach finished 6-5 and Allen avoided his first losing season as a coach since 1954, when he was at Whittier College.

Seay contributed three catches for 62 yards in the victory over UNLV.

Afterward, the team doused a jubilant Allen with Gatorade.

Six weeks later, on New Year’s Eve day, while watching a football game, Allen died at home. He was 72.

As Seay weighed the obstacles ahead, he vowed never to forget what Allen had done.

Despite a solid senior season, and professional-level skills, Seay was not drafted. He is convinced teams were scared off by his medical history.

“Obviously, it had a lot to do with me not getting drafted,” Seay said. “It definitely has followed me.”

The San Francisco 49ers took a chance and signed Seay as a free agent in 1992. He spent the season on the practice squad and learned his craft watching two of the game’s best--Jerry Rice and John Taylor.

“I saw what it took to be the best to play this game,” Seay said. “That’s what really gave me more motivation to pursue my dream.”

The Chargers claimed Seay on waivers in 1993. He was inactive for all but one game last year, stuck in another receiving logjam behind Anthony Miller and Nate Lewis.

But the skies cleared in the off-season. Miller signed with Denver. Lewis was traded.

Receiver coach Sullivan called Seay in the winter and said 1994 would make or break his career. Seay took the news to heart, went to camp and won a starting job.

“I could tell people kept waiting for me to say, ‘Oh, he’s out of here,’ but he kept getting better,” Sullivan said.

Seay understands that careers are week to week in the NFL and is taking nothing for granted.

The Chargers’ medical staff refuses to discuss Seay’s possible health risk. In both San Francisco and San Diego, Seay has had to sign liability waivers similar to the one he signed at Long Beach State.

“That’s the reality for the rest of my career,” Seay said.

Keoki Kamau, the Chargers’ trainer, said Seay’s remaining kidney is functioning at a satisfactory level. Seay wears a specially-padded body suit and a shoulder pad extension to protect it.

Although the Chargers may not be legally responsible for Seay, Kamau said there are human obligations.

“We’re always aware of it,” he said. “The medical staff is in that mode. The responsibility is ours. We know it and Mark knows it.”

Kamau said Seay has withstood a variety of hits to the kidney area.

“The toughest is when you have your back to the defensive back and he comes up from behind and you get hit on the back.”

Seay took such a hit in the opener and emerged unscathed.

Seay said he was only worried once. While playing in a college game at Jack Murphy Stadium, an opposing player slammed into him while he lay on the hard infield dirt.

Seay coughed up blood, but the injury turned out not to be kidney related.

Seay said he thinks of a kidney injury only when reporters broach the subject. But the risk is real. Should he loose the use of his remaining kidney, he faces life on a dialysis machine.

Kamau said that working with Seay has been inspirational.

“This is a remarkable guy,” he said. “He’s taken some pops. He’s really a tough individual. Extraordinary.”

Kamau calls Seay “a modern-day folk hero.” Like others, he wonders what he might have done in Seay’s situation when the bullets started flying that night in 1988.

“I would hope all of us would have done what Mark did,” Kamau said. “But we never know until we’re tested.”

Seay said he reacted instinctively in diving on top of Tashawnda, the way he dives instinctively after passes. Seay thinks he was allowed to live for a reason.

“It just lets you know how quickly your life can change,” he said. “‘You can be walking around one day, and be on your deathbed the next day. It just makes you appreciate life even more, you know, don’t take it for granted. Take it one day at a time and make the best of it. When things seem hard, just try to make the best out of the hard days.”

Tashawnda is almost 7 now. After the shooting, Seay’s sister moved from Long Beach and the family lives in Rialto now.

Seay said he and his niece do not discuss the events of that night. All she knows is that Uncle Mark is a football star.

“She’s beautiful,” Seay said of his niece. “She’s very fun, very outgoing, can’t wait to get grown. I tell her to slow down. She reminds everybody of my mom. We just about know what my mom was like at her age, all we have to do is look at her. We see so much resemblance in her. She’s a great kid. She’s got a bright future ahead of her.”

Seay can’t wait for Sunday.

“It’s going to be sweet, man,” he said. “I’m looking for a sweet outing and a sweet victory.”

Maybe, afterward, he’ll be able to raise another private toast to an old coach and absent friend.

“Long Beach was special to Dad, but Mark absolutely stood out,” Bruce Allen said. “Mark would have fit into the Over-the-Hill-Gang.”