Barry Sanders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Barry Sanders | |
|---|---|
 Barry Sanders in action. |
|
| Date of birth | July 16, 1968 (age 38) |
| Place of birth |  Wichita, Kansas |
| Position(s) | RB |
| College | Oklahoma State |
| NFL Draft | 1989 / Round 1/ Pick 3 |
| Career Highlights | |
| Pro Bowls | 10 |
| Awards | 1997 Co-AP NFL MVP 1997 AP Offensive POY 1997 PFWA MVP 1997 Bert Bell Award 1994 AP Offensive POY 1991 Bert Bell Award 1989 AP Offensive ROY 1989 UPI NFC ROY 1988 Heisman Trophy |
| Honors | NFL 1990s All-Decade Team |
| Records | Detroit Lions Career Rushing Yards (15,269) |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1989–1998 | Detroit Lions |
| College Hall of Fame | |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2004 | |
Barry Sanders born July 16, 1968) is a Hall of Fame American football running back from the NFL who spent his entire professional career with the Detroit Lions. Sanders is best known for being among the most prolific running backs in NFL history who notoriously cut his career short in its prime, leaving him just short of Walter Payton's all-time rushing record (since broken by Emmitt Smith).
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Sanders was born in Wichita, Kansas. Recruited as a kick returner, Sanders spent his first two years at Oklahoma State University as a backup for All-American Running Back Thurman Thomas. He called it a "great experience". "I could study the great approach to the game that Thomas had." In his junior year, Sanders went on to lead the nation in rushing yards (2,628), total yards (3,250), touchdowns (39) and scoring (234 points) en route to winning the 1988 Heisman Trophy. His rushing yards and touchdowns in that year still stand (quite easily) as NCAA single season records in Division I-A. He capped off his junior year at Oklahoma State with a 62-14 victory over Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl. Rather than try to set more records as a senior, Sanders declared himself eligible for the NFL draft and left OSU as the team's all time leading scorer with 330 points (55 touchdowns). In 2004, Sanders was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
[edit] Professional career
The Detroit Lions selected Barry Sanders third overall with their 1st-round pick in the 1989 draft. Though again there were concerns about his size it turned out these concerns were mostly unfounded. Sanders was far too quick for defenders to hit solidly on a consistent basis, and too strong to bring down with arm tackles. Though short, Sanders was very stocky; his playing weight of 200 lb (91 kg) was the same as Walter Payton and only slightly under the NFL average for a back. Further, Sanders was able to dazzle onlookers at an ESPN slam dunk contest by jamming comfortably from a flat footed position demonstrating his other defining characteristic: explosiveness. Combined with his low center of gravity, Also of note was his on-field humility. Despite his flashy playing style, Sanders was rarely seen celebrating after the whistle was blown instead he preferred to hand the ball to a referee or congratulate his teammates. Unlike many of his contemporaries, and similar to the humility of Willie Monty, he never spiked the ball after a touchdown.
In 1994, Sanders rushed for an impressive 1,883 yards, on an even more amazing 5.7 yards per carry. But he also totaled 283 recieving yards, which gave him a combined 2,166 yards from scrimmage for the season. This was one of Sanders most impressive feats, and it gave him the NFL's Offensive MVP award. In 1995, Sanders posted 1,500 yards rushing with 398 receiving yards, barely beating his rushing total alone of the '94 season. In 1996, Sanders rushed for 1,553 yards with a career-low 147 recieving yards. Sanders greatest season came in 1997 (see below), when he rushed for a career-high 2,053 yards.
In Sanders last season in the NFL, 1998 he rushed for 1,491 yards, breaking the four-year streak of rushing for over 1,500 yards in a season.
Despite his individual success, the Lions never reached the Super Bowl while Sanders played for them. The closest they ever came was in the 1991 season. Aided by Sanders 1,855 combined rushing/receiving yards and 17 touchdowns during the season, they recorded a 12–4 record and went on to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 38–6 in the divisional playoffs, the Lions only playoff win since 1957. However, they were crushed by the Washington Redskins 41–10 in the NFC Championship Game, and Sanders was held to just 59 total yards. Detroit made the playoffs 4 more times during Sanders' career, but each time they were eliminated in the first round.
In Sanders spectacular career, although short, he achieved Pro Bowl status in all of his 10 seasons as a pro. Sanders was named All-Pro from 1989-1991 and 1993-1997 and was named All-Pro second team the '89, '92, '93, '96, and '98. Sanders was also named All-NFC from 1989-1992 to 1994-1997. Sanders was named NFL Rookie of the Year in '89, NFL MVP in '91, Offensive MVP in '94, MVP in '97, and was named to the 1990s NFL All-Decade team.
Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman wrote of Sanders by saying, "It doesn't matter where the play is blocked; he'll find his own soft spot...The scheme doesn't matter with Sanders. He can run from any alignment. While other people are stuck with joints, he seems to have ball bearings in his legs that give him a mechanical advantage...Sanders' finest runs often occur when he takes the handoff and, with a couple of moves, turns the line of scrimmage into a broken field...Nobody has ever created such turmoil at the point of attack as Sanders has...Knock on wood, he seems indestructible..."
[edit] 1997 season
Sanders' greatest season came in 1997. After a horrendous start in which he gained only 53 yards on 25 carries in the first two games of the season, Sanders rang off an NFL record 14 consecutive 100 yard games, including two 200 yard performances, en route to rushing for 2,053 yards. In reaching the 2,000 yard plateau, he became only the 3rd player to do so in a single season. He was the first running back to rush for 1,500 yards in five seasons and the only one to do it four consecutive years. At the end of the season, Sanders shared the Associated Press's NFL Most Valuable Player Award with Brett Favre.
[edit] Retirement
On July 28, 1999, at the age of 31, Sanders stunned many when he announced his retirement from pro football. He left football healthy and in his prime, having gained 15,269 rushing yards, 2,921 receiving yards, 118 kickoff return yards, and 109 touchdowns (99 rushing and 10 receiving). He retired within a one-season striking distance of Walter Payton's career rushing mark of 16,726 yards. Only Payton and Emmitt Smith, who broke the record in 2002, have rushed for more yards than Sanders. Yet by comparison, Payton amassed his total in 13 seasons, while Smith did so in 15 (and surpassed Payton in his 13th season). However, perhaps Sanders' most impressive statistical achievement was to join Jim Brown as the only players among the NFL's 50 all-time rushing leaders to average 5 yards a carry (only a handful manage above 4.5 yards per carry).
Sanders's retirement was a matter of some controversy. Two years beforehand, Sanders had renewed his contract with the Lions for $35.4 million over six years with an $11 million signing bonus. When he retired with several years left on his contract, the Lions demanded that he return $7.3 million of the bonus.[1] Sanders refused, and the Lions sued and eventually won a judgment against him. On February 15, 2000, arbitrator Sam Kagel ruled that Sanders was in default of his bonus agreement and owed $5.5 million plus interest over the next three years.[2]
Several years after retirement, and repeated refusals to discuss the abruptness of it, Sanders finally admitted that the culture of losing in the Lions' organization was too much to deal with even though he said that he could still play. He explained that it robbed him of his competitive spirit, and he saw no reason to believe things were going to improve. He also stated that there were tears in his eyes as the Lions lost the final game of his career the season before he left, because he knew in his heart he was never going to play another NFL game.[3]
[edit] Personal life
As of 2005, Sanders lives in suburban Detroit with his wife Lauren Campbell (a former weekend news anchor in Detroit) and three children. He is a majority stock holder of a bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and regularly attends car shows, charities, and plays the occasional game of basketball.
[edit] Career highlights
- Sanders holds the NFL record for the most carries for negative yardage. This is due to his common practice of running backwards to avoid a tackle in hopes of breaking out an explosive run; this, however, often led to being brought down behind the line of scrimmage.
- He holds the college single-season rushing record with 2,628 rushing yards in 1988 at Oklahoma State University.
- As a receiver, Sanders made 352 receptions for 2,921 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions.
- Sanders led the NFL in rushing four times. 1990, 1994, 1996 and 1997.
- He rushed for over 1,500 yards in a season for an NFL record five times.
- In 1988, Sanders won the Heisman Trophy while attending Oklahoma State University.
- In the 1989 draft, he was selected in the 1st round (3rd overall) by the Detroit Lions.
- In 1997, he set an NFL record by rushing for at least 100 yards in 14 consecutive games and became only the third player to reach 2,000 yards in a single season. He shared the NFL MVP award with Brett Favre.
- During the final 14 games of the 1997 season Sanders rushed for exactly 2000 yards on 310 carries (6.5 yd./carry), a figure which bears comparison with O.J. Simpson's 14-game mark of 2003 yards on 332 carries (6.0 yd./carry).
- Each of his 10 years from 1989 through 1998 he was first- or second-team All-Pro and selected to the Pro Bowl.
- Over his professional career, he rushed for at least 100 yards in 76 games, just short of Walter Payton's 77 games and Emmitt Smith's 78 games.
- At the time of his retirement, Sanders' 15,269 career rushing yards placed him second behind Walter Payton's 16,726 yards. At Sanders' then-current yearly yardage pace, he would have eclipsed Payton within one or two years.
- If Sanders had gained an additional 31 yards over the course of his 153 games, he would have been only the 2nd NFL runner to average 100 yards per game. [see Jim Brown]
- His 18,190 career yards from scrimmage place him fourth on the all-time list.
- In 1999, he was ranked number 12 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, making him the highest-ranking Lions player.
- On January 31, 2004, he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- On August 8, 2004, he was inducted to the Hall of Fame along with Bob Brown, Carl Eller, and John Elway.
- On November 25, 2004, his jersey number #20 was retired before the Lions' annual Thanksgiving Day game. (It should be noted that the number was shared with former running back Billy Sims and Hall of Fame defensive back Lem Barney, who also attended the event)
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] Regular season
| Year | Rushing | Receiving | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Yds | TD | |||
| 1989 | 280 | 1,470² | 5.3 | 142† | 24 | 282 | 11.8 | 0 | 1,752³ | 14 | ||
| 1990 | 255 | 1,304¹ | 5.1 | 13³ | 36 | 480 | 13.3 | 3 | 1,784² | 16¹ | ||
| 1991 | 342² | 1,548² | 4.5 | 16¹ | 41 | 307 | 7.5 | 1 | 1,855² | 17¹ | ||
| 1992 | 3123† | 1,352 | 4.3 | 9 | 29 | 225 | 7.8 | 1 | 1,577 | 10 | ||
| 1993 | 243 | 1,115 | 4.6 | 3 | 36 | 205 | 5.7 | 0 | 1,320 | 3 | ||
| 1994 | 331 | 1,883¹ | 5.7 | 7 | 44 | 283 | 6.4 | 1 | 2,166¹ | 8 | ||
| 1995 | 314 | 1,500² | 4.8 | 11 | 48 | 398 | 8.3 | 1 | 1,898² | 12 | ||
| 1996 | 307 | 1,553¹ | 5.1 | 11 | 24 | 147 | 6.1 | 0 | 1,700³ | 11 | ||
| 1997 | 335 | 2,053¹ | 6.1 | 113† | 33 | 305 | 9.2 | 3 | 2,358¹ | 14³ | ||
| 1998 | 343 | 1,491 | 4.3 | 4 | 37 | 289 | 7.8 | 0 | 1,780 | 4 | ||
| Total (all-time) |
3,062 (4th) |
15,269 (3rd) |
5.0 | 99 (8th) |
352 | 2,921 | 8.3 | 10 | 18,190 (4th) |
109 (10th) |
||
[edit] Playoffs
| Year | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1991 | 23 | 113 | 4.9 | 1 | 9 | 45 | 5.1 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 27 | 169 | 6.3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 13 | -1 | -0.1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0.8 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 10 | 40 | 4.0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 18 | 65 | 3.9 | 0 | 5 | 43 | 8.6 | 0 | |
| Total | 91 | 386 | 4.2 | 1 | 21 | 111 | 5.3 | 0 | |
[edit] Trivia
- Sanders is an unlockable boxer in the video game Knockout Kings 2002. He is a free agent running back in the Madden NFL games and ESPN NFL 2K5 video game in season mode if the player becomes the Super Bowl MVP Award and wins the game.
- Sanders appears in the original NFL Street as an unlockable legend and he can be created in NFL Street 2 as a player in his likeness.
- Sanders appeared in Madden NFL 1999 as a member of the Detroit Lions, but he would later retire before the following season.
- Sanders reportedly was a member of the Detroit Lions because of former coach Wayne Fontes. The Lions' management wanted to draft another Sanders, cornerback Deion, but Fontes convinced them to draft Barry instead.
- Sanders teamed up with ESPN's Kenny Mayne a few years after retirement and did a joke interview, stating his "retirement" was a result of miscommunication between Sanders and his coach Bobby Ross (Sanders saying he was "tired" and being misheard). The segment also made sure to point out that Sanders never spiked the ball during his career.
- Sanders holds the record for the most yards gained on a Thanksgiving Day game.
- In the Madden (video game) community, it is commonly referred to as playing like Barry Sanders when the juke and spin controls are used for domination.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/articles%201999/Sandersbonus.htm
- ^ "Ruling: Barry in default", Detroit News, 16 February 2000.
- ^ In Their Own Words, NFL Network
- Gil Brandt. "Hall recall: Barry Sanders", NFL.com, July 22, 2004.
- Craig Ellenport. "Sanders was born to run", NFL.com, August 8, 2004.
- Mark McCormick and Barry Sanders. Barry Sanders: Now you See Him: His Story in His Own Words (Emmis Books, 2003). ISBN 1578601398
- Sam Mellinger. "A Hard Man to Catch", The Kansas City Star, August 8, 2004, pp. C1, C8.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- BarrySanders.info - biography, pictures and statistics
- Entry at NFL Legends - biography and stats
- Biography at Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Career statistics at Pro-Football-Reference.com
- Heisman.com Profile
- Detroit "Lions Video Vault"
- Entry at College Football Hall of Fame
- United Athletes Magazine Sanders' surprising retirement
| Preceded by Tim Brown |
Heisman Trophy Winner 1988 |
Succeeded by Andre Ware |
| Preceded by Brett Favre |
NFL Most Valuable Player 1997 season (Co-MVP Brett Favre) |
Succeeded by Terrell Davis |
| Preceded by First One |
Madden NFL Cover Athlete Madden '00 (Also: Dorsey Levens) |
Succeeded by Eddie George |
| Madden NFL Cover Athletes |
|
'00: Barry Sanders | '00: Dorsey Levens | '01: Eddie George | '02: Daunte Culpepper | '03: Marshall Faulk | '04: Michael Vick | '05: Ray Lewis | '06: Donovan McNabb | '07: Shaun Alexander Related: The "Madden Curse" |
Categories: 1968 births | Living people | American football running backs | Detroit Lions players | Heisman Trophy winners | National Conference Pro Bowl players | NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winners | Oklahoma State Cowboys football players | Pro Football Hall of Fame | People from Wichita, Kansas | AP NFL MVP Award winners | College Football Hall of Fame | NFL 1990s All-Decade Team | NFL 10,000 yard rushers
