With only a few weeks left until the college football season, Deion Sanders will celebrate his 57th birthday on August 9th.
The Colorado Buffaloes head coach will begin his second year with the program after shocking the sports world with several upset victories last season, but we can’t forget his legendary playing career in two different sports.
From breathtaking performances in NFL games to decisive plays in the MLB, FOX Sports Research has analyzed the best moments of his career from the perspective of the coach and the player.
Let’s take a look:
The five best moments in Deion Sanders’ career
Defeats TCU in first game as Colorado head coach
- While this could be considered recency bias, there was arguably no bigger moment in “Coach Prime’s” career than the win over TCU in Week 1 of last season. The Horned Frogs had just played in a national championship game and entered the game as 21-point favorites. Shedeur Sanders made his debut and threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-42 win for Colorado. Sanders led them to four wins on the year, surpassing their over/under win record of 3.5.
Two Super Bowl titles in a row with the 49ers and the Cowboys
- In 1994, Sanders was named Defensive Player of the Year and led the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory. That season, he intercepted six passes and defended three for points. The following year, however, he joined the Cowboys and played a key role in their run to the Super Bowl, winning the second title of his career. Between the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Sanders intercepted eight passes in 23 regular-season games and intercepted three passes in the postseason.
1992 MLB season
- It’s important to remember that Sanders was a two-sport superstar and excelled as an MLB player. His 1992 season with the Braves was arguably his best, posting an OPS of .841 and leading the majors with 14 triples in just 97 games. That same season, he played one game for the Falcons against the Dolphins and later that evening flew to Pittsburgh to join the Braves for Game 5 of the NLCS. Atlanta made it to the World Series, where Sanders posted an incredible .533 batting average with eight hits, five stolen bases, and one RBI in four games played. He is still the only player to ever bat over .500 and record five stolen bases in a single World Series.
Punt return for TD in first NFL game
- Deion Sanders cemented his dominance early in his NFL career. After being selected fifth overall in the 1989 NFL Draft, he returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown in his professional football debut against the Rams in Week 1. He started 10 games at cornerback that season and recorded five interceptions, two forced fumbles and over 1,000 combined kick and punt return yards.
93-yard pick-six against the Falcons
- Sanders spent his first five NFL seasons with the Falcons before signing with the 49ers in 1994. On October 16 of that year, he returned to the Georgia Dome to face his former team. After a scuffle with former teammate Andre Rison (a five-time Pro Bowl player), “Prime” intercepted a pass from quarterback Jeff George, carried it 93 yards and scored a touchdown. He stared down the entire sideline before high-stepping into the end zone. Scroll to 5:50 in the clip below to see the incredible play.
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