Barry Sanders :: Sports Athletes Essays

Barry Sanders Barry Sanders arguably the best back ever to play the game of football. Barry is not one of those players who is just out there to make money, he loves the game and is always trying his hardest when he is out there. Barry Sanders was born July 16th, 1968 in Wichita, Kansas. He grew up in a family being one of eleven other children. When Barry was a kid he was considered to be too short to play football well at the college level. In fact, his 1,417 yards rushing in his senior year of high school wasn't enough to impress college recruiters. One recruiter told Barry's coach, "We don't need another midget." Only two colleges offered Barry a football scholarship. Barry accepted a scholarship from Oklahoma State University and the rest is now history. Here are some of Barrys career achievements that he has done in the short time he has played the game. Which has made him such the over achiever that he is. 1988, won the Heisman Trophy Award for best player in the nation. 1989, lead the NFC in rushing and was Rookie of the Year. 1992, became the Lions' All-Time leading rusher. 1994, rushed for the fourth best NFL season record of 1,883 yards and included a 237 yards in week 11 vs. Tampa Bay. In 1996, became the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in his first eight seasons, won the NFL rushing title, selected to the Pro Bowl for the eighth time and became the first player to rush for over 1,500 yards in three consecutive seasons. Sanders continues adding to his extraordinary numbers on the field. He has run for 1,300 yards and now stands seventh among the NFL’s all-time rushers with 11,472, having surpassed Ottis Anderson, O.J. Simpson and John Riggins. He’s 128 yards behind Kansas City’s Marcus Allen, Sanders’ boyhoodhero when he was growing up in Wichita, Kan., and Allen was a Los Angeles Raider. Next year, providing he keeps up this trend of 1,000-yard seasons, Sanders will pass Franco Harris (12,120), Jim Brown (12,312) and Tony Dorsett(12,739) and slide into third place behind Eric Dickerson (13,259) and Walter Payton (16,726). Sanders is the first player in league history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons, and Thursday he was named to his eighth straight Pro Bowl. â€Å"Anytime he touches the ball, it’s a highlight reel,† says Allen, now in his 15th NFL season.