Deion Sanders

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Sanders played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, winning the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988. He was selected by the Falcons fifth overall in the 1989 NFL draft. Primarily a cornerback, he received eight Pro Bowl and six first-team All-Pro selections. Sanders also made consecutive Super Bowl appearances in Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers and Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys, winning both. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. After retiring as a player, Sanders pursued a sports analyst and coaching career. He served as the head coach at Jackson State University from 2020 to 2022, leading them to two consecutive Celebration Bowl appearances and the first undefeated regular season in school history. Sanders was named the head football coach of Colorado in 2023.

In Their Own Story

During the 1992 season, his best year in the majors, Sanders hit .304 for the Atlanta Braves, stole 26 bases, and led the NL with 14 triples in 97 games. In four games of the 1992 World Series, Sanders batted .533 with four runs, eight hits, two doubles, and one RBI while playing with a broken bone in his foot. His batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases and win probability added each led the team in the series. Despite Sanders' performance, the Braves ultimately lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games. In Game 3, he narrowly avoided being a victim of what would have been only the second triple play in World Series history.

Reader's Guide

Sanders was born on August 9, 1967, in Fort Myers, Florida, to Connie Sanders and Mims Sanders. His parents divorced when Sanders was two. He was raised by his mother and her new husband, Willie Knight. He attended North Fort Myers High School, where he was a letterman and All-State honoree in football, basketball, and baseball. In 1985, he was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team. The Kansas City Royals selected him in the sixth round of the 1985 MLB draft, but he chose to play at Florida State University. On the New Heights podcast, Sanders revealed his first name is spelled "Dion" but he started spelling it "Deion" when learning the nursery rhyme "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" as a child. At Florida State, he played football, baseball, and track. Under coach Bobby Bowden, he was a third-team All-American in 1986, and a two-time unanimous All-American cornerback in 1987 and 1988, intercepting 14 passes in his career. He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988. His No. 2 jersey was retired in 1995. In baseball under coach Mike Martin, his batting average was .331 in 1986. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 30th round of the 1988 MLB draft and signed on June 22. He made his MLB debut on May 31, 1989. During the 1989 season, he hit a home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, becoming the only player ever to do so. In 1992, his best year in the majors, he hit .304, stole 26 bases, and led the NL with 14 triples in 97 games. In the 1992 World Series, his batting average was .250 (3-for-12).

Did You Know?

• Sanders is one of only a few athletes to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series, alongside Gene Conley and Tom Brown.
• He is also the only player ever to hit a home run in MLB and score a touchdown in the NFL in the same week.
• Sanders' No. 2 jersey at Florida State was retired in 1995.