Barry Sanders was born on July 16, 1968 in Wichita, Kansas. Although Sanders was never the biggest player on the field, he always found a way to get the job done time and time again. With great balance and strength he racked up yards at every level of football imaginable. And for this reason many people consider him to be among the greatest running backs to ever play the game.
After a successful high school career Sanders decided to take his game to Oklahoma State University. During his first two years with the Cowboys he played behind star running back Thurman Thomas. But when his time finally came he was more than ready to take advantage. As a junior, he led the nation with 2,628 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns. This led to him winning the Heisman Trophy in 1988. Instead of sticking around for one more year, Sanders decided that it was time to move onto the next level. He declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft and left college as one of the greatest runners of all time.
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Sanders was selected by the Detroit Lions with the third pick of the first round in the 1989 NFL Draft. In his first season he made an immediate impact on both the team and league. He carried the ball 280 times for 1,470 yards. Additionally, he scored 14 touchdowns. Ever year after that he put up like numbers. His best season ever was in 1997 when he rushed for 2,053 yards on 335 carries. He also scored 11 touchdowns that season.
It came as a shock to the football world when Sanders decided to retire for good after the 1998 season. Although he was still putting up big statistics, he decided that it was time to leave the game. Sanders ended his career with 15,269 rushing yards and 99 touchdowns. Even though Sanders did not stick around for a long time, he will always be known as one of the greats.