All-Time Seminole Cornerback: Deion Sanders

Biography

BORN: August 9, 1967

BIRTHPLACE: Ft. Myers, FL

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'1"/195 pounds

NFL Experience: 11 Years

FSU LETTERS: Football 1985-88, Track 1986-88, Baseball 86-87

If there was a quintessential athlete, a guy everybody wants, someone who is so unique that his nearly indescribable, then that athlete would be Deion "Prime Time" Sanders.

Deion proved from the start at Florida State he would be something special. As a freshman, Sanders started in the Seminoles' secondary, played outfield on the baseball team which finished 5th in the nation, and led the track team to its 10th conference championship.

A two-time All-American at cornerback, Sanders was the 1988 Thorpe Award winner as the nation's finest defensive back. He led the Seminoles to some of their most memorable wins including picking off an Auburn pass with seconds left to preserve a win over the Tigers in the 1988 Sugar Bowl.

Once, he played in the first game of a baseball tournament, went over to the track to run a leg on the 4x100 relay squad in his baseball pants, then returned to the diamond to slap the game-winning hit in the Seminoles second game of the day. FSU retired Deion's jersey in 1995.

He is the only man in pro sports history to play both in a World Series (batting .533 Atlanta in 1992) and in the Super Bowl (victorious with San Francisco in 1994 and Dallas in 1995). Deion was drafted by Atlanta in the 1st round of 1989 (5th overall) and on Sept. 9, 1995, the Dallas Cowboys signed Deion to a long term contract. He was signed by Washington as a free agent June 6, 2000.

Deion is the only man in NFL history to have recorded both a pass reception (a 47 yarder, Super Bowl XXX) and interception (returned for 15 yards in Super Bowl XXIX). In 1996 he became the first two-way starter in the NFL since the Eagles Chuck Bednarik (1962). Deion is a 7-time Pro Bowl participant and 1994 Defensive Player of the Year. He has 41 career interceptions, 21 regular season TD's, and one playoff TD. Deion is second in the NFL history with eight career interception returns for TD's - trailing only Hall of Famer Ken Houston who has nine. As a runner, receiver, defender, punt returner and kickoff returner, Deion has gained an average of 16.9 yards every time he has touched the football in a NFL regular season game.

At the completion of the 1996 football season, Deion returned to baseball, signing with the Cincinnati Reds, and went on to lead the major leagues in stolen bases well into the final month of the '97 season before returning to football on a full-time basis in September. He finished the 1997 baseball season ranked second in the National League with 56 stolen bases.

Deion also holds the NFL record with 18 career touchdowns scored on returns. He has 44 career interceptions for 24.9 yard average, and is the All-time NFL leader with a minimum of 50 interceptions. He finished the 1997 baseball season ranked second in the National League with 56 stolen bases.

As a baseball player, Deion has spent time with the New York Yankees (1989-90), Atlanta Braves (1991-1994), Cincinnati Reds (1994-1995, 1997 and 2001) and San Francisco Giants (1995). As a football player, he has played for the Atlanta Falcons (1989-1993), the San Francisco 49ers (1994), the Dallas Cowboys (1995-2000) and then with the Washington Redskins.

Accolades:

Jim Thorpe Award Winner

Retired Football Jersey #2

Pro-Bowl Member: 1992-93-94-95-97-98-99-2000

No. 37 on The Sporting News Top 100 Football Players of the Century

No. 74 on ESPN's 100 Greatest Athletes of the Century

1986

Sporting News - 1st Team All-American

Associated Press - 3rd Team All-American

Football News - 1st Team Sophomore All-American

United Press International - All-American - Honorable Mention

1987

Associated Press - 1st Team All-American

United Press International - 1st Team All-American

American Football Coaches Association - 1st Team All-American

Football Writers Association - 1st Team All-American

Sporting News - 1st Team All-American

Football News - 1st Team All-American

Walter Camp - 1st Team All-American

Kodak - 1st Team All-American

Scripts Howard - 1st Team All-American

NCAA Consensus All-American

1988

Associated Press - 1st Team All-American

United Press International - 1st Team All-American

American Football Coaches Association - 1st Team All-American

Football Writers Association - 1st Team All-American

Sporting News - 1st Team All-American

Football News - 1st Team All-American

Walter Camp - 1st Team All-American

Kodak - 1st Team All-American

NCAA Consensus All-American

Career Statistics - College

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