Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders

Infobox NFLretired


caption=Sanders in 2005.
position=Running back
number=20
height=5-9
weight=201
birthdate=birth date and age|1968|7|16
Wichita, Kansas
debutyear=1989
finalyear=1998
draftyear=1989
draftround=1
draftpick=3
college=Oklahoma State
teams=
* Detroit Lions (1989-1998)
stat1label=Rushing Yards
stat1value=15,269
stat2label=Average
stat2value=5.0
stat3label=Touchdowns
stat3value=109
nfl=SAN194381
highlights=
* 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
HOF=187
CollegeHOF=90050

Barry David Sanders (born birth date|1968|7|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.

High School Career

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 height|ft=5|in=8 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,cite news | first=Jeff | last=Merron | coauthors= | title=Best individual college football seasons | date= | publisher= | url =http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/collegefootball/seasons.html | work =ESPN | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-12 | language = Marron wrote, "The only serious question when composing this list was "Who's No. 2?"] 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. cite web|url=http://www.holidaybowl.com/game-history/1988.html |title=1988 Holiday Bowl Summary |accessdate=2007-12-29 ] Sanders won the Heisman Trophy as the season's most outstanding player. cite web|url=http://www.heisman.com/winners/b-sanders88.html |title=Heisman Trophy / 1988 - 54th Award |accessdate=2007-08-12 ] . However, he left Oklahoma State before his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

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. 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 positionFact|date=November 2007 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.cite news | first=Jeff | last=Marron | coauthors= | title= LT best NFL rookie of all time | date= | publisher=ESPN | url =http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/nflrookies.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-12 | language = ]

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's 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 (and only at his time) Running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards for ten consecutive years.


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