Barry Sanders: American Football
Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a former football running back who set a record with the Detroit Lions in 1997 for rushing over 2000 yards in one season, overall gaining 15,269 rushing yards, 2921 receiving yards and 109 touchdowns. He is a member of the college and professional football halls of fame and was known as the “# 1 elusive runner in NFL history” by the NFL Top-10. Sanders is one of the greatest players who never reached the Super Bowl. He was the third overall pick in the 1989 draft, a year later after he played for Oklahoma State University in 1988.
Greatest Sporting Achievements
Barry Sanders, who played for the Detroit Lions from 1989 to 1998, is the first player to ever reach a record of 1000 yards for the first 10 seasons, averaging over 1,500 rushing yards per season. He led the NFL four times and broke records. Sanders was selected as the NFL Rookie of the Year for two consecutive years and was given the NFC Most Valuable Player award by the NFL Players Association.
Why Was He So Good?
Barry Sanders became famous for his electrifying running style. He is the third-leading rusher in NFL history. Though he was short at 5’8” and weighed 203 lbs, he was quick and strong to bring down with arm tackles. Sanders was muscular, which gave him an advantage when it came to acceleration and a very low center of mass. He was also known for his humbleness when it came to the field. While of some his teammates were seen celebrating every time they won, he would be rarely seen celebrating, instead he would rather hand the ball to the referee or congratulate his teammates.
What You May Not Know
- Before the #20 was offered to Barry Sanders, it was first owned by Lem Barney and Billy Sims. Sims was one of the league’s best running backs in the early 80s.
- His last NFL season was in 1998 where he broke his five year streak of rushing over 1500 yards where he only rushed for 1491 yards during that season.
- ESPN ranked him #2 of the “Top 25 Greatest College Football Players Ever” in ESPN’s list in 2008.
Was he a legend?
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Related Pages
- More American Football players
- Athlete Database home
- About the sport of American Football
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