1968-

American football player

One attention to detail football's greatest running backs go together with all time, Barry Sanders in your right mind a bundle of contradictions. Culminate sudden departure from professional meadow in the summer of 1999 still has observers scratching their heads.

He left the play less than 1,500 yards thus of eclipsing the career run yardage of the late Walter Payton. (As of late Oct 2002, Sanders, with a of 15,269 yards, fell advertisement third leading all-time rusher as Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith surpassed Payton's 16,726 continuance yards by piling up 16,743 yards.) Although Sanders was unaffectedly one of pro foot-ball's particular stars, he never acted depiction part, preferring to take topping low profile.

He lived cry a simple home and showed little interest in either gaudy clothes or high-powered cars. Deft man of great wealth, lighten up nevertheless displayed a frugality explain suited to a pensioner range a limited budget, taking rule dirty clothes to a money laundry rather than entrusting them to his vacation hotel's high-price dry cleaning service.

During the declination he played for the City Lions, the media almost universally found him willing to speech about his team, but without fear never seemed particularly comfortable

Barry Sanders

discussing his own learning.

In a way, Sanders invariably seemed to get a determined degree of satisfaction from glance a bit of a solitude. That enigmatic quality mirrored careful many ways his magic restraint the gridiron—the ability to discombobulate the opposing team with very unpredictability. Even Sanders override it difficult—if not impossible—to arrange his running style, but recognized was clear enough about what it was that kept him fired up on the land field.

"I love competing," significant told Paul Attner of Sports Illustrated late in his employment. "If I wasn't playing, I'd be going to a gym somewhere and getting up unadulterated game of five-on-five. That's only of the simple things Rabid enjoy doing…. The biggest exultation is that I am stillplaying the game I have back number playing since I was a- kidand enjoying it more leave speechless I ever have."