Deion Sanders
| Deion Sanders | |
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Positions: Cornerback , Return Specialist , Wide Receiver |
Jersey numbers: 21, 37 |
| born on August 9, 1967 in Fort Myers , Florida | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1989 - 2005 | |
| NFL Draft : 1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 | |
| College : Florida State | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Tackles | 493 |
| Interceptions | 53 |
| Sacks | 1 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Deion Luwynn Sanders (born August 9, 1967 in Fort Myers , Florida , USA ), nickname : Primetime or Neon Deion , is a former American football player on the position of cornerback and a former baseball player on the position of outfielders . He is one of the few athletes who played in both the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) at the same time. After his active career, he works as a television presenter .
Deion Sanders is the only player to have played an NFL and an MLB game in one day. He was also the only one to play in a final of the two leagues: In the NFL Super Bowl and in the MLB World Series .
college
Sanders attended Florida State University in Tallahassee from 1985 to 1988 . In the sports team, the Florida State Seminoles , he was successful in athletics , baseball and American football. In 1988 he received the Jim Thorpe Award .
Baseball career
In 1989, Sanders was drafted and signed by the New York Yankees major league baseball team , where he played as an outfielder. Sanders was a solid batsman (.293 batting average in 641 games), who was known as a very good baserunner because of his sprinting qualities (43 times he reached third base ( triple ) with a hit and 183 times he stole a base ) . He also hit 39 home runs in the MLB. The high point of his career was reaching the 1992 World Series with the Atlanta Braves , in which he showed a strong performance and hit a batting average of .533 despite a fractured foot bone. He later played for the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants .
Although Sanders was a gifted baseball player, he never concealed the fact that baseball was his "good friend" but that football was his "true love".
Football career
Also in 1989 Sanders was drafted and committed by the NFL team Atlanta Falcons , for which he played as a cornerback until 1993 . Sanders made a brilliant debut with the Falcons when he scored a touchdown on his first punt return from 68 yards . Most notably, Sanders also played Major League Baseball for almost his entire football career. In 1989, he became the first person to score both an MLB home run and a touchdown in the NFL in the same week.
In football, Sanders established himself as one of the best returner and cornerbacks of his generation: between 1991 and 1998 he was nominated eight times for the Pro Bowl , the NFL's all-star game . Sanders was particularly feared for his interceptions . As a Falcon, he intercepted opposing throws 24 times and scored three defensive touchdowns. Sanders was so feared as a "shutdown cornerback" that various NFL teams never threw on the side that Sanders was defending - and thus made their attacking game more predictable. In order to use his speed (Sanders could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds) and catch safety in attack, he was also occasionally used as a wide receiver in the offense and marked two offensive touchdowns. Sanders thus became one of the few modern day NFL players who scored touchdowns in both offense and defense.
In 1994, Sanders moved to the San Francisco 49ers , where quarterback Steve Young and wide receiver Jerry Rice led the attack. Sanders played arguably the best season of his career, catching six interceptions and running out of 303 yards and three touchdowns. At the end of the season he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award . When he returned to Atlanta, he first fought with ex-teammate Andre Rison , then immediately intercepted a pass from Falcons quarterback Jeff George and scored a 94-yard touchdown. Sanders did his part to ensure that the 49ers won the Super Bowl XXIX superior . This made him the first to play in both the Super Bowl and the World Series (1992). However, since Jerry Rice saw Sanders as an "arrogant loudmouth" who put himself above the team, the cornerback was traded to the Dallas Cowboys after a year . Another reason was that the 49ers let Sanders play exclusively as a cornerback, instead of also as a receiver and returner. With the opposing quarterbacks rarely throwing in his direction, he felt bored and empty despite the wins and considered quitting football and becoming a full-time baseball player. Although personal animosity persists between the two to this day, Sanders recognizes Rice as one of the best opponents he has ever played.
At the Cowboys he was reunited with his friend Michael Irvin . Together they won the Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers 27:17, with Sanders not only being a cornerback and return specialist, but also a wide receiver in this final game. Sanders caught a 47-yard throw from Aikman, which was followed a few plays later by a touchdown from tight end Jay Novacek to 9-0. After that, the cowboys sank into mediocrity. When Irvin injured himself in 1996, the nominal defender Sanders took over his wide receiver position in the offense, scored 475 yards of space and a touchdown. As a cornerback, he caught two interceptions. This made Sanders the first player in 34 years to be used in both offense and defense in the starting lineup . He played in Dallas until 1999, before moving to the Washington Redskins in 2000 , where he ended his career in 2001. In 2004, however, he returned to the football stage and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens , for whom he also played in 2005 and then ended his active career for good.
Sanders is the only player in NFL history to score a touchdown in all six different ways: as a punch return, as a kick return, as a receiver (pass recipient), as a rusher (runner), after an interception and after a fumble .
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 after the five-year minimum waiting period.
Private life and image
Sanders is a second married to his wife Pilar, with whom he has three children. From his first marriage he has two additional children. When he first divorced in 1997, he attempted suicide.
Sanders was known throughout his career for his extroverted demeanor with garish clothes, heavy gold chains and expensive cars, which earned him the nicknames "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion". He liked to jump into the end zone with high steps before touchdowns, waved the football provocatively in front of his opponents sprinting behind and danced the “Deion Shuffle”. Sanders based his eccentric image on the fact that he was "extremely ambitious" and that it was a reaction to the fact that as a cornerback he would play an unglamorous, often overlooked field position. The volleyball player Gabrielle Reece , who attended Florida State University with Sanders, he justified his gimmick as a means to sell yourself better than colleagues who, in his opinion, are "better than himself".
For the 2013 NFL Draft, Sanders played the talented but arrogant rookie "Leon Sandcastle" in an NFL commercial, with whom Sanders parodied himself.
Web links
- Deion Sanders website
- Player information and statistics Baseball Reference (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Where Sanders goes, teams win , ESPN.com
- ↑ All that glitters is not Deion (page 2) , The Sporting News.
- ↑ a b All that glitters is not Deion , The Sporting News.
- ↑ All that glitters is not Deion (page 3) , The Sporting News.
- ↑ Super Bowl XXX , pro-football-reference.com.
- ^ They Don't Pay Nobody To Be Humble , ESPN.com
- ^ Beauty And The Beach , Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ Rookie Sensation: Leon Sandcastle , NFL.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sanders, Deion |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sanders, Deion Luwynn (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American baseball and football player and television presenter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 9, 1967 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fort Myers , Florida, USA |