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Barry Sanders
Sanders in 2005. |
| No. 20 |
| Running back |
|
Personal information |
| Date of
birth: July 16, 1968 (1968-07-16) (age 41) |
| Place of birth: Wichita,
Kansas |
|
Height: 5 ft 8 in
(1.73 m) |
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information |
| College:
Oklahoma
State |
| NFL
Draft: 1989 / Round: 1
/ Pick: 3 |
| Debuted in 1989 for the
Detroit
Lions |
| Last played in 1998 for
the Detroit
Lions |
|
|
| Career history |
As player:
|
| Career highlights and awards |
- 10× Pro Bowl selection
(1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
- 6× First-Team All-Pro
selection (1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997)
- 4× Second-Team All-Pro selection (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998)
- 1997 Co-NFL MVP
- 1997 NEA NFL MVP
- 1997 Co-PFWA NFL MVP
- 1989 NFL
Offensive Rookie of the Year
- 1988 Heisman
Trophy
- 2× NFL
Offensive Player of the Year (1997, 1994)
- 2× Bert Bell
Award (1997, 1991)
- Holds 10 Detroit Lions Team Records
|
| Stats at NFL.com |
| Pro Football Hall of
Fame |
| College Football Hall of
Fame |
Barry David Sanders (born July 16, 1968(1968-07-16))
is a former 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. Sanders is widely regarded as one of the
greatest running backs ever to play the game, and certainly the
most elusive.
Early
years
A Wichita,
Kansas native, Sanders attended Wichita North High School.
Sanders 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.
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]
However, he left Oklahoma State before his senior season to
enter the NFL draft.
Professional
career
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. He was offered the number of Lion idol Billy Sims, known as the
80's Lions' runningback. 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",
his playing weight was 203 lb (91 kg) and Sanders had a large
portion of this weight in his exceptionally large and muscular
legs, which provided him with a very low center of mass; his weight was also 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. His
agility and quick acceleration combined with his low center of mass
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 after declining
to go back into the regular season finale just 10 yards shy of the
rushing title (later won by Christian Okoye), 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..."
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. Sanders
also became the first running back to rush for more than 1,000
yards for ten consecutive seasons.
| Week |
Team |
Carries |
Yards |
Average |
| 1 |
ATL |
15 |
33 |
2.2 |
| 2 |
TAM |
10 |
20 |
2.0 |
| 3 |
at CHI |
19 |
161 |
8.5 |
| 4 |
at NOR |
18 |
113 |
6.3 |
| 5 |
GNB |
28 |
139 |
5.0 |
| 6 |
at BUF |
25 |
107 |
4.3 |
| 7 |
at TAM |
24 |
215 |
9.0 |
| 8 |
NYG |
24 |
105 |
4.4 |
| 9 |
at GNB |
23 |
105 |
4.6 |
| 10 |
at WAS |
15 |
105 |
7.0 |
| 11 |
MIN |
19 |
108 |
5.7 |
| 12 |
IND |
24 |
216 |
9.0 |
| 13 |
CHI |
19 |
167 |
8.8 |
| 14 |
at MIA |
30 |
137 |
4.6 |
| 15 |
at MIN |
19 |
138 |
7.3 |
| 16 |
NYJ |
23 |
184 |
8.0 |
| 1997 |
TOTAL |
335 |
2053 |
6.1 |
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.[5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
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."[8]
It was thought by some that Bobby Ross himself may have actually
been the reason for his early retirement but Barry Sanders,
however, debunked this theory in his autobiography; Barry
Sanders: Now You See Him, saying that Coach Ross had nothing
to do with his quitting and actually praised him as a great head
coach.
Personal
life
Barry currently resides in West
Bloomfield, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, and is married
to the former Lauren Campbell, currently a news anchor on a local news station, and the
couple have three children together. Sanders also has a son, Barry
James Sanders from a previous relationship, who is currently a
notable high school football prospect. As a freshman in 2008,
Sanders' son ran for 742 yards and twelve touchdowns while helping
Heritage Hall School to the 2008
Oklahoma 2A state title.[9][10]
Career
highlights
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.
Professional
- 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 yards 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.
- NFL record 25 games in which Sanders rushed for 150 yards or
more. Brown is second with 22 games.
- NFL record 46 games in which Sanders had 150 yards from
scrimmage or more. Walter Payton is second with 45.
- 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.
Career
statistics
Regular
season
¹Led
league ²Second place ³Third place †Tied
| Year-Age |
Rushing |
|
Receiving |
|
Total |
| Att |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
|
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
|
Yds |
TD |
| 1989 - 21 |
280 |
1,470² |
5.3 |
142† |
|
24 |
282 |
11.8 |
0 |
|
1,752³ |
14 |
| 1990 - 22 |
255 |
1,304¹ |
5.1 |
13³ |
|
36 |
480 |
13.3 |
3 |
|
1,784² |
16¹ |
| 1991 - 23 |
342² |
1,548² |
4.5 |
16¹ |
|
41 |
307 |
7.5 |
1 |
|
1,855² |
17¹ |
| 1992 - 24 |
3123† |
1,352 |
4.3 |
9 |
|
29 |
225 |
7.8 |
1 |
|
1,577 |
10 |
| 1993 - 25 |
243 |
1,115 |
4.6 |
3 |
|
36 |
205 |
5.7 |
0 |
|
1,320 |
3 |
| 1994 - 26 |
331 |
1,883¹ |
5.7 |
7 |
|
44 |
283 |
6.4 |
1 |
|
2,166¹ |
8 |
| 1995 - 27 |
314 |
1,500² |
4.8 |
11 |
|
48 |
398 |
8.3 |
1 |
|
1,898² |
12 |
| 1996 - 28 |
307 |
1,553¹ |
5.1 |
11 |
|
24 |
147 |
6.1 |
0 |
|
1,700³ |
11 |
| 1997 - 29 |
335 |
2,053¹ |
6.1 |
113† |
|
33 |
305 |
9.2 |
3 |
|
2,358¹ |
14³ |
| 1998 - 30 |
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) |
Notes and
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.
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