Barry Sanders

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Barry Sanders
Sanders in 2005.
Position(s): Running back	Jersey #(s): 20
Born: July 16, 1968 (1968-07-16) (age 39) Wichita, Kansas
Career Information
Year(s): 1989–1998
NFL Draft: 1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
College: Oklahoma State
Professional Teams
Detroit Lions (1989-1998)
Career Stats
Rushing Yards	15,269
Average	5.0
Touchdowns	109
Stats at NFL.com
Career Highlights and Awards
10x Pro Bowl selection (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 1996, 1997, 1998) 10x All-Pro selection (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) 1997 Co-NFL MVP 1997 NEA NFL MVP 1997 Co-PFWA NFL MVP 1989 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year 1988 Heisman Trophy 2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1997, 1994) 2x Bert Bell Award (1997, 1991) Holds 10 Detroit Lions Team Records
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Barry David Sanders (born July 16, 1968(1968-07-16)) is a Hall of Fame and Heisman Trophy winning American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders is best known for being one of the most prolific running backs in NFL history, and left the game just short of the all-time rushing record.

[edit] High School Career

A Wichita, Kansas native, Sanders attended Wichita North High School. He did not play running back until the fourth game of his senior year in 1985. He rushed for 1,322 yards in the final seven games of the season, which earned him all-state honors. He was, however, overlooked by most college recruiters because of his 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) size. He chose Oklahoma State out of the few scholarship offers made to him. He was one of the top prospects in the college draft.

[edit] College career

Sanders played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 1986 to 1988, and wore the number 21. During his first two years, he backed up All-American Thurman Thomas. Thomas moved on to the NFL, and Sanders became the starter for his junior year.

In 1988, in what has been called the greatest season in college football history,^[1] Sanders led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,249 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, of which 37 were rushing (also a record), 5 consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least 2 touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and 9 times he scored at least 3 touchdowns. Sanders also ran for 222 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in his three quarters of action in the Holiday Bowl - a game that was not included with his season statistics.^[2] Sanders won the Heisman Trophy as the season's most outstanding player.^[3]

[edit] Professional career

After his junior year, Sanders left Oklahoma State and entered the NFL draft. The Detroit Lions selected Sanders with their 1st-round (3rd overall) pick in the 1989 draft, thanks to the endorsement of then-coach Wayne Fontes. The Lions' management considered drafting another Sanders, cornerback Deion, but Fontes convinced them to draft Barry instead. Though 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 at 5'8", Sanders was very stocky; his playing weight of 203 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^{[citation needed]} demonstrating his other defining characteristic: explosiveness. His agility and quick acceleration combined with his low center of gravity made him very difficult to bring down. In contrast to many of the star players of his era, Sanders was also noted for 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.

In his rookie year in 1989, Sanders missed training camp due to a contract dispute. Despite that, he ran for 18 yards on his first carry, and scored a touchdown on his fourth. He finished the season second in the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns, and won the Rookie of the Year Award.^[4]

In 1994, Sanders rushed for 1,883 yards, on a 5.7 yards per carry average. He also totaled 283 receiving yards, which gave him a combined 2,166 yards from scrimmage for the season. He was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year. In 1995, Sanders posted 1,500 yards rushing with 398 receiving yards, beating his rushing total alone of the '94 season. In 1996, Sanders rushed for 1,553 yards with a career-low 147 receiving 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, ending his 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. They were beaten by the Washington Redskins 41–10 in the NFC Championship Game, and Sanders was held to 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' career, he achieved Pro Bowl status in all of his 10 seasons as a pro. Sanders was named first team All-Pro eight times from 1989–1991 and 1993–1997 and was named second team All-Pro twice in 1992 and 1998. Sanders was also named All-NFC from 1989-1992 to 1994-1997. Sanders was named NFL Rookie of the Year in '89, Offensive Player of the Year in '94 and '97, NFL MVP in '97, and was named to the 1990s NFL All-Decade team.

Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman wrote:

"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

Barry Sanders' greatest season came in 1997. After a start in which he gained 53 yards on 25 carries in the first two games of the season, Sanders ran 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 third player to do so in a single season and the first since O. J. Simpson to rush for 2,000 yards in a span of 14 consecutive games. 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 Green Bay QB Brett Favre.

Other running backs have been compared to Sanders, for example Warrick Dunn. In the 1997 season, Sanders played twice against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dunn's team at the time. In the first game, Dunn ran for 116 yards in the first half, which helped the Buccaneers win the game and prompted sports writers to wonder whether Sanders had peaked and whether Dunn would take Sanders' position as a top-level running back. In the second game, Sanders ran for 215 yards, including touchdown runs of 80 and 82 yards, which helped Detroit win the game. At the end of the game, Sanders said "I do a pretty good Warrick Dunn impersonation, don't I?".^[5]

[edit] Barry Sanders Retirement

Sanders stunned many when he announced his retirement from pro football. His retirement was made public by faxing a letter to the Wichita Eagle, his hometown newspaper in July 1999.^[6]

He left football healthy, having gained 15,269 rushing yards, 2,921 receiving 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 Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith have rushed for more yards than Sanders.

Sanders's retirement came somewhat unexpectedly and was a matter of 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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 - "I sobbed for 3 months."^[9]

[edit] Personal life

As of 2008, Sanders lives in suburban Detroit with his wife Lauren Campbell (a former weekend news anchor in Detroit) and four children.

[edit] Career Highlights

[edit] Collegiate

• He set 34 NCAA records during his Heisman Campaign.
• He holds the national college single-season rushing record with 2,628 rushing yards in 1988.
• In 1988, Sanders won the Heisman Trophy while attending Oklahoma State University.
• In 2008, Sanders was ranked #2 in ESPN's list of the Top 25 Greatest College Football Players Ever.

[edit] Professional

• Barry also helped bring forth and revolutionize the spin move used by most running backs in college and pro.
• In the 1989 NFL draft, he was selected in the 1st round (3rd overall) by the Detroit Lions.
• As a receiver, Sanders had 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 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 football 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 (although Barry accomplished the feat in fewer games).
• NFL record 25 games in which Sanders gained 150 yards or more. Brown is second with 22 game(S).
• 15 career touchdown runs of 50 yards or more, most in NFL history. Brown is second with 12.
• 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. Payton died from liver cancer at age 45 just months after Sanders' sudden retirement.
• 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 and the third highest ranked running back, behind Jim Brown and Walter Payton.
• 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.
• Along with Gale Sayers, Sanders is one of the only members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to be inducted while still in his 30's.
• 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.)
• Sanders also holds the NFL record for the most carries for negative yardage. According to the SI Book of Football, these numbers totaled 336 carries for -952 Yards.

[edit] Career Statistics

[edit] Regular Season

[edit] References

Ron Knapp Sports Great Barry Sanders Revised Edition copyright date 1999 page 16

• 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 Sanderss. 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
• Entry at NFL Legends - biography and stats
• ProFootballHOF.com - Hall of Fame biography page
• Pro-Football-Reference.com - NFL career statistics
• Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy page
• CollegeFootball.org - College Football Hall of Fame page
• Detroit "Lions Video Vault"
• United Athletes Magazine Sanders' surprising retirement