Deion Sanders

[bambam]

Texas may have the answer for this but anyone is welcome if you can help. On the olympics-reference site, a guy from football-reference sent me a note saying we should add a list of Olympians who played in the NFL. That was easy, I have such a list, which I sent to him. He replied that we should mention that "Deion Sanders was asked to 'try out" for the 1988 Olympic team." I answered him that it doesn't quite work that way. His response was that in 1988, Deion Sanders had run 10.26 for the 100, which was under the Olympic Trials qualifying time and thus was tantamount to being asked to "try out."

I won't get into a p---ing contest with him about the semantics of being asked to try out. But is this mark - 10.26 for 100 in about 1988 - by Deion Sanders accurate? I was not aware of it.

[Marlow]

Re: Deion Sanders

But is this mark - 10.26 for 100 in about 1988 - by Deion Sanders accurate? I was not aware of it.

He did indeed. 4/23/88 at Tallahassee - 10.26 w+0.6

He is one of those demi-gods in football legend listed at 4.1y (with Nap McCallum and Bo Jackson)

[scottmitchell74]

I was just thinking this morning at work about football players who ran track and "what if" they had concentrated in track only (more $$ in football, but hey - it's a fun thought)

I remember Robert Smith being absurdly fast in HS in Ohio but I can't find a time on him. I borrowed these from a Jazzycyclist post:

Johnny “Lam” Jones 10.14 1977
Willie Gault 10.10 1982
Deion Sanders 10.26 1988
Raghib "Rocket" Ismail 10.34 1991

+ Herschel Walker running 10.23


Contrary to some I believe some of these guys would have broken 10.00 if they stayed with track. Walker in particular was other-worldly and simply put HUGE.

To this day Willie Gault still runs very fast. I think he's run 10.7x in the 45+ age bracket. Amazing. I love thinking about the "what ifs".

[Dave]

I was just thinking this morning at work about football players who ran track and "what if" they had concentrated in track only (more $$ in football, but hey - it's a fun thought)

I remember Robert Smith being absurdly fast in HS in Ohio but I can't find a time on him. I borrowed these from a Jazzycyclist post:

Johnny “Lam” Jones 10.14 1977
Willie Gault 10.10 1982
Deion Sanders 10.26 1988
Raghib "Rocket" Ismail 10.34 1991

+ Herschel Walker running 10.23


Contrary to some I believe some of these guys would have broken 10.00 if they stayed with track. Walker in particular was other-worldly and simply put HUGE.

To this day Willie Gault still runs very fast. I think he's run 10.7x in the 45+ age bracket. Amazing. I love thinking about the "what ifs".

If these guys hadn't bulked up for football and learned how to start, perhaps they would have been contenders. Of course, Willie Gault was an established track star so doesn't really fit my earlier comments.

[jazzcyclist]

Here is the link to the historical section of the Florida State media guide. Check page 43, the third page of this pdf file.
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/fsu ... istory.pdf

[jazzcyclist]

I was just thinking this morning at work about football players who ran track and "what if" they had concentrated in track only (more $$ in football, but hey - it's a fun thought).

We track fans should be thankful that Usain Bolt wasn't born and raised in the US.

[Dave]

I was just thinking this morning at work about football players who ran track and "what if" they had concentrated in track only (more $$ in football, but hey - it's a fun thought).

We track fans should be thankful that Usain Bolt wasn't born and raised in the US.

How big is Tyson Gay? Could he have chosen football?

[Bruce Kritzler]

Robert Smith ran 46.+ in high school (Ohio), always finishing behind Chris Nelloms.

[jhc68]

Napoleon Kaufman doubled the California State Meet in 10.57 and 21.15... not super fast but very legit marks in one of the toughest venues for a HS runner, and he was only an 11th grader. Didn't run track the next year as he was alread priming for football at Washington and the NFL. He was, by far and away, the fastest 8th grader I ever saw... no doubt could have been much faster as a track specialist.

[Kurt Francis]

Robert Smith ran 46.+ in high school (Ohio), always finishing behind Chris Nelloms.

I know this for a fact as I saw him run 46.7-46.8 behind Nelloms 45.59(?) at the '90 OHSAA meet. It was a heck of a competition! Nelloms doubled back to run 20.47 less than an hour later.

And now Nelloms sits in prison until 2039 for raping his daughter.

[tandfman]

And now Nelloms sits in prison until 2039 for raping his daughter.

He was convicted of raping a 12-year old girl; I don't believe she was his daughter.

[Texas]

Sanders could have been a sub 10.10 guy "if" track at been his only sport. The list of footballer/tracksters is a mile long. Unless asked I won't go off into long long listville.

[Charles Howe]

Robert Smith ran 46.+ in high school (Ohio), always finishing behind Chris Nelloms.

Robert Smith's PRs at Euclid H.S. :

400m = 46.41 (1989)
200m = 21.10 (1989)

[johnclevohio]

Robert Smith also ran on the 4x400 at Ohio State that ran 3:00.82 in 1993.

[Old Miler]

Deion Sanders

Don't forget probably the greatest football/sprinter combo ever: Darrell Green.

Track:

10.08 100m
20.50 200m
45.90 400m
10-time All American at Texas A&M


Football:

20-year NFL career
54 career interceptions
7-time Pro Bowl selection
2 Super Bowl rings
4-time winner of "NFL Fastest Man"
NFL "record" 4.09 40-yard dash
4.24 40-yards @ age 40