Deion Sanders
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| Deion Sanders | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 9, 1967 (age 39) |
| Place of birth |  Fort Myers, Florida |
| Position(s) | Cornerback |
| College | Florida State |
| NFL Draft | 1989 / Round 1 / Pick 5 |
| Career Highlights | |
| Pro Bowls | 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1994, 1993, 1992 |
| Awards | 1988 Jim Thorpe Award 1994 NFL Defensive Player of Year |
| Honors | 2 Super Bowl rings NFL 1990s All-Decade Team Florida Sports Hall of Fame Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame |
| Retired #s | Florida State's #2 |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1989-1993 1994 1995-1999 2000 2004-2005 |
Atlanta Falcons San Francisco 49ers Dallas Cowboys Washington Redskins Baltimore Ravens |
Deion Luwynn Sanders (Born:August 9, 1967 in Fort Myers, Florida) is an American former National Football League cornerback, Major League Baseball outfielder, and CBS Sports commentator. In April of 2006 he became a partial owner of the Austin Wranglers, an Arena Football League team based in Austin, TX[1]. Sanders also works for the NFL Network, appearing on the Sunday night highlights show NFL GameDay. He played for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League, and played for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball.
Sanders, also known as Neon Deion and Prime Time, is considered one of the greatest and most versatile athletes in recent American sports history. In football, he is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, cover cornerbacks of all time.
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[edit] High school years
Sanders attended North Fort Myers High School in Fort Myers, Florida, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. He was an All-State honoree in all three sports.
[edit] College career
Sanders was a star in three sports for the Florida State Seminoles, participating in football, baseball, and track. Beginning his freshman year, he started in the Seminoles' secondary, played outfield for the baseball team that finished fifth in the nation, and helped lead the track and field team to a conference championship. It was clear Sanders was an exceptional athlete on a national level.
At Florida State, under head coach Bobby Bowden, Sanders was a two time consensus All-American cornerback in 1987 and 1988, and a third team All-American in 1986, intercepting 14 passes in his career, including three in bowl games, and managed to return one interception 100 yards for a touchdown. He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988 and is widely considered to be one of the best cornerbacks to ever play college football. He was also a punt returner for Florida State, leading the nation in 1988 with his punt return average, and breaking the school's record for career punt return yards. His jersey at Florida State, #2, was retired in 1995. Sanders helped seal the 1988 Sugar Bowl for the Seminoles by picking off an Auburn pass in the last seconds.
While playing baseball under head coach Mike Martin, at Florida State, Sanders hit .331 in 1986; he was known more for base stealing, swiping 27 bags in 1987. Sanders would go on to be drafted while in college by the New York Yankees (He also was selected by the Kansas City Royals out of North Fort Myers High School, though he did not sign.)
Sanders also ran track during his years at Florida State. On one occasion, Sanders played the first game of a baseball double-header, ran a leg of a 4X100 relay, then returned to play another baseball game.
[edit] MLB career
| Cincinnati Reds — No. 21 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| May 31, 1989 for the New York Yankees | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 1995) |
|
| AVG | .263 |
| HR | 39 |
| RBI | 168 |
| SB | 186 |
| SLG | .392 |
| Former teams | |
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Deion Sanders played a nine-year, part-time baseball career, playing 641 games with 4 teams. During his most productive year, 1992, he hit .304 for the Braves, and stole 26 bases in 97 games. During the 1989 season, he hit a home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, the first player to do so. Sanders is the only man to have played in a MLB and NFL game during the same day- when in 1992 his Falcons played Miami and that same day he played for the Braves against Pittsburgh in an NLCS game,[1] and he is also the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and World Series.
In four games of the 1992 World Series, Sanders batted .533 with 4 runs, 8 hits, 2 doubles, and 1 RBI. Despite Sanders' great performance, his Braves would ultimately lose to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games.
[edit] NFL career
[edit] Atlanta Falcons
Deion Sanders's professional football career started the same year as his baseball career, 1989. He was the fifth pick overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, where he played until 1993. During his time there, he intercepted 24 passes (including a career high 7 in 1993), three of which he returned for touchdowns. In 1992, he also led the league in kickoff return yards (1,067), yards per return (26.7) and return touchdowns (2). Over his five years with the Falcons, Sanders found his way to the endzone ten times (3 defensive, 3 kick returns, 2 punt returns & 2 receptions). During his stay in Atlanta, Sanders claimed that the Georgia Dome was the house that he built.[2]
[edit] San Francisco 49ers
After five seasons of feeling like the only bright star in Atlanta and yearning for a Super Bowl championship, Deion signed on to play one season with the San Francisco 49ers, where he had arguably his best season as a professional football player, recording 6 interceptions and returning them for an NFL best 303 yards and 3 touchdowns. One of the interceptions returned for a touchdown came against the Falcons in the Georgia Dome. After getting into a scuffle with his former friend Andre Rison, Sanders caught an interception and proceeded to return it for a score while mockingly glaring at the entire Falcons sideline before high-stepping into the endzone. Sanders was voted the 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and recorded an interception in the 49ers 49-26 win over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.
[edit] Dallas Cowboys
On September 9, 1995, Deion Sanders signed a lucrative contract with the Dallas Cowboys (7 years, $35 million dollars with a $12.99 million dollar signing bonus), essentially making him at the time, the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Arthroscopic surgery kept him sidelined until his debut in Week 9 against his former team, the Atlanta Falcons. He later went on to help the Cowboys win their third Super Bowl title in four years with a win in Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he returned a punt for 11 yards and caught a 47-yard reception on offense, setting up Dallas' first touchdown of the game and a 27-17 victory. He is the only player in NFL history to catch a pass and make an interception in the Super Bowl. At the trophy presentation, Sanders stated, "I didn't even get to hold the trophy last year" in regards to his previous employer in San Francisco.
[edit] Washington Redskins
After 5 seasons with the Cowboys, he later was acquired by the Washington Redskins and played one season, having 4 interceptions with the Redskins, before his 1st retirement in 2001.
[edit] Baltimore Ravens
In 2004, lured back to football by Ravens cornerback Corey Fuller and linebacker Ray Lewis, Sanders announced that he was going to end his retirement. He signed a 1-year deal reportedly worth $1.5 million with the Baltimore Ravens to be a nickelback. Sanders chose to wear the number 37, which matched his age at the time, to preemptively let people know that he was well aware of his relative senior status for an NFL player (additionally, the number 21 used by Sanders throughout his career, was already in use on the Ravens by Chris McAlister). On October 24, Sanders scored his ninth career touchdown on an interception return against the Buffalo Bills, moving him into a tie for second place behind Rod Woodson (12) all-time in that category. He finished with 5 interceptions for the Ravens.
In January 2006, Sanders once again retired from the NFL, becoming an analyst for the NFL Network.
[edit] Legacy
During his 14-year NFL career, Deion Sanders was a perennial All-Pro and one of the most feared pass defenders to ever play the game.[citation needed] At the height of his career, his reputation was so great that opposing offensive coordinators almost always specifically accounted for him in their game-plan.[citation needed] He was widely known to shut down "his" half of the field, causing most quarterbacks to essentially ignore the receiver he was covering.[citation needed] Although critics argued that his tackling was poor and he was not much of a factor in run support[citation needed], they could not deny that his unparalleled closing speed (evidenced by his 4.19 second 40 yard dash and his 4.6 second backwards 40 yard dash] time[3]) Sanders' speed and athleticism enabled him to blanket the best receivers while playing one of football's toughest positions. He was once quoted as saying, " You show me a corner that can tackle, and I'll show you one that can't cover"[citation needed].
Sanders also occasionally lined up with his team's offense, returned kicks, and played wide receiver. During the 1996 season, Sanders skipped the baseball season by concentrating strictly on football and attended the first NFL training camp of his career to better familiarize himself with the nuances of the wide receiver position. He became the first two-way starter in the NFL since Chuck Bednarik for the first half of the season due to Michael Irvin serving a five game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Through his career, Sanders intercepted 53 passes for 1,331 yards (a 25.1 yards per return average), recovered 4 fumbles for 15 yards, returned 155 kickoffs for 3,523 yards, gained 2,199 yards on 212 punt returns, and caught 60 passes for 784 yards. Sanders amassed 7,838 all-purpose yards and scored 22 touchdowns: 9 interception returns, 6 punt returns, 3 kickoff returns, 3 receiving, and 1 fumble recovery. His 19 defensive and return touchdowns are an NFL record. He was selected to eight Pro Bowls in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. He was also awarded the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1994.
In 2003, Sanders took interest in Devin Hester, a return specialist from the University of Miami. Sanders mentored Hester, counselling and advising Hester during various points of his collegiate career. The Chicago Bears drafted Hester in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Since then, Hester has broken, tied, or approached many NFL return records. Hester has cited Sanders as one of his major inspirations and idols, and thanked Sanders’ for his training and advice. Hester, also known as “Anytime”, occasionally performs Sanders’ signature touchdown dance and high-steps in homage to his mentor.[4][5][6]
- College Football News named Sanders #8 in its list of 100 Greatest College Football Players of All-Time.
- The Sporting News named Sanders #37 in their Top 100 Football Players of the Century released in 1999.
- ESPN named Sanders #74 in its list of the 100 Great Athletes of the Century released in 1999.
[edit] NFL teams
- Atlanta Falcons: 1989-1993
- San Francisco 49ers: 1994
- Dallas Cowboys: 1995-1999
- Washington Redskins: 2000
- Baltimore Ravens: 2004-2005
[edit] "PRIME TIME"
Sanders will mostly be remembered sporting his famous "do-rag" and for his "High-Stepping" into the endzone followed by his excessive touchdown dance celebrations. At the same time Sanders will also be remembered for his alternate ego, Prime Time. Sanders felt he deserved bigger contracts in the same range as NFL quarterbacks and he used Prime Time to his every advantage to get noticed. The strategy was successful - at one point, he was the highest paid defensive player in the league when he was lured away from the San Francisco 49ers to sign a 7 year, $35 million dollar contract with the Dallas Cowboys (it was essentially 5 years, but was given a 7 year length for an easier cap hit and the signing bonus was $12,999,999.99, 1 cent under 13.0 million due to superstition by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.) As he took on the Prime Time persona, he was easily one of the most visible and outspoken football players to ever take the field.
Even though some analysts considered him a loud, egotistical, flashy prima donna and scorned for his infrequent tackling, Sanders' ability to shut down one side of the field and an opponents' number one receiver was something that could not be denied.
Off the field, Sanders was known for being a quiet, reserved individual who was surprisingly a good teammate and avid student of the game - a marked contrast to his alter ego.
[edit] Other ventures
- In January 2004, Sanders was hired as an assistant coach to the Dallas Fury, a women's professional basketball team in the National Women's Basketball League, even though Sanders had never played organized basketball either in college or the professional level, although he had originally been dubbed "Prime Time" due to his prowess as a basketball player in high school.[7]
- After retiring from the NFL, Sanders worked as a sports pre-game commentator for CBS' The NFL Today until 2004, when contract negotiations failed. He was replaced by Shannon Sharpe.
- Sanders frequently made guest appearances on ESPN, especially on the ESPN Radio Dallas affiliate, and briefly hosted a show called The New American Sportsman. He also hosted the 2002 Miss America pageant.
- Sanders also was co-host of the 2004 GMA Music Awards broadcast, taped in late April 2004, slated for an airing on UPN in May 2004. When negotiations with fellow Viacom property CBS failed (see above) two weeks before the broadcast, and he signed a deal with ESPN, UPN promptly cancelled the broadcast, and the show aired on the i Network in December 2004 (both UPN and CBS are now owned by CBS Corporation).
- Sanders also appeared on the ESPN TV show Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith 3-times.
- On September 2, 2005, in response to the terrible after-effects of Hurricane Katrina, Sanders challenged all professional athletes in the four major sports to donate $1,000 each to relief efforts, hoping to raise between $1.5 to $3 million total. Sanders said "Through unity, we can touch thousands...I have friends and relatives that feel this pain. Help in any way you can."
- Sanders tried to adopt a high school running back, Noel Devine, who is one of the top recruits in 2007. Sanders was advised to and said, "He doesn't have parents; they died. God put this young man in my heart. This is not about sports. This is about a kid's life."
- Sanders has also became a mentor to former Miami Hurricanes cornerback Devin Hester, who in his rookie season of 2006 broke the single-season record of return touchdowns with 7.
- In April 2006, Sanders became an owner of the Austin Wranglers, an Arena Football League. team[8]
- Deion currently works as a host with Rich Eisen and Steve Mariucci for the NFL GameDay show on the NFL Network.
Mentors top ranked highschool runningback Noel Devine and was a big factor in Devine choosing to go to prep school rather than sign with West Virginia.
March 2,2007- Deion Sanders on behalf Sanders Clause made a appearance at the PCW Arena in Arlington, Texas. He made his special appearance for a young adult with a physical illness. The boys name is Jeffery Stalone. Along side with PCW Tag Team Champion’s, Lance Hoyt “Shadow”, Wally Darkmon, “Main Event” Mike Foxx, and “The Texas Legend” Action Jackson they talked to a standing room only arena about Jeffery’s illness and Deion made the announcement that he will be holding a special benefit show for Jeffery “The Snake” Stallone on March 17, 2006 at the PCW Arena.
[edit] Trivia
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- Sanders has been married twice - to Carolyn Chambers, with whom he has two children (Deiondra and Deion Jr.), and Pilar Biggers (Shilo and Shedeur).
- Sanders, known for his custom-made showy suits and flashy jewelry, frequently capitalized on his image. On December 26, 1994 Sanders released Prime Time, a rap album on Bust It Records that featured the minor hit "Must Be The Money." "Prime Time Keeps on Tickin'" was also released as a single. His album was ranked No. 72 overall in the book "Glow Pucks & 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History" by author Greg Wyshynski (Taylor Trade 2006). Sanders also appeared in MC Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit" music video.
- Sanders also appeared as his alter-ego Prime Time in MC Hammer's Pumps and a Bump video.
- During his 1994 season with San Francisco, Sanders bought himself a black Lamborghini Diablo stating "A present from me, to me." Later it was revealed in his book, that both Super Bowl victories with San Francisco and Dallas along with the Lamborghini still made him feel "empty."
- Following his first Super Bowl victory with the San Francisco 49ers, he was the host of Saturday Night Live, broadcast on February 18, 1995.
- He endorsed his own video game for the Sega Genesis console titled Prime Time NFL Football Starring Deion Sanders.
- Sanders has been in numerous television commercials for Nike, Pepsi, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and American Express. He was most notable as the Road Runner in a Pepsi ad and in a Pizza Hut commercial where he responds to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones questions ("Football or baseball?" and "Offense or defense?") with "both!!", including the question "So what'll it be Deion? $15...20 million?" Deion pauses to think it over, and says, "Umm...both."[9]
- In 2005, the fast-food Burger King chain, computer generated their famous "King" character over Deion's image when he intercepted a pass against the Buffalo Bills and raced for a touchdown eventually doing his customary "Deion shuffle" in the endzone.
- He made a brief cameo appearance on the TV show Living Single and as a potential kidnap victim at the end of the movie Celtic Pride.
- While he wore the number 21 for the majority of his football career, he wore the number 2, his college football number, in practice.
- He was known to lay out his entire uniform on the floor prior to games.
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave Sanders a custom-made Mercedes golf cart to get around training camp.
- At one point, the gates guarding his Plano, Texas home had the words "Prime Time" emblazoned on each one.
- He became a born-again Christian after his attempted suicide in 1997.
- Sanders is also left handed.
- Sanders founded PrimeSelect Models based in the Fort Worth Dallas Area in Jan of 2007
- MLB catcher Carlton Fisk, made a scene during a game at Yankee Stadium when Sanders offended him by stepping up to the plate and drawing a dollar sign in the dirt before the pitch. He claimed Sanders was "playing the game the wrong way" and tarnished the game of baseball. The infamous incident was later recounted by Fisk on both ESPN Classic and a CNBC interview with Tim Russert.
- Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall idolizes Sanders and seems to only allow himself to be mentored or take advice from Sanders himself. He even wears the number 21 and is as flashy and confident as the original Prime Time ever was. Sanders even goes so far as to call him "Prime Time Jr." when he recaps Atlanta Falcons highlights as a co-host on NFL GameDay.
- He is a spokesman for AT&T's See How They Live campaign, and is their host when he tours the homes of numerous athletes across the country. This can be seen at seehowtheylive.com.[10]
- He is the only man ever to score a touchdown and hit a home run in the same week in two major sports (NFL and MLB).
- He is the only person to ever catch a Brett Favre pass in college and the NFL, both were interceptions.
[edit] References
- Deion Sanders with J.M. Black. Power, Money & Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life. World Publishing 1998.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/2001/indy500/news/2001/05/25/double_dippin/M
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_39_224/ai_65730491
- ^ "Ask the Falcons." AtlantaFalcons.com, May 20, 2006. This time, taken from the official team site, is a more direct source than the Washington Post article (Maske, Mark. "Clarett's Draft Stock Drops." The Washington Post, February 28, 2005.), which states Sanders' record is 4.28. Sanders has also unofficially recorded a 4.17 dash (Zeigler, Mark. "The NFL treats 40-yard dash times as sacred." The San Diego Union-Tribune, April 20, 2005.).
- ^ Pilot episode is prime-time (English).
- ^ Hester wins second straight player of week award (English).
- ^ Q&A: Devin Hester (English).
- ^ http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016459.html
- ^ http://www.arenafootball.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3500&ATCLID=271301&SPID=1547
- ^ http://lb.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?editorialAuthor=2&id=B35D34DA-F102-12F4-C70A861801CA2A77
- ^ http://www.seehowtheylive.com
[edit] External links
- Football statistics
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
| Preceded by Rickey Dixon |
Thorpe Award Winner 1988 |
Succeeded by Mark Carrier |
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