'''Deion Luwynn Sanders''' (born August 9, 1967 in Fort Myers, Florida) is an American former National Football League cornerback, Major League Baseball player, and CBS Sports commentator.
Sanders, also known as '''Neon Deion''' and '''Prime Time''', is considered one of the greatest and most versatile athletes in recent American sports history, much like Bo Jackson. In football, he is considered to be one of, if not the greatest cover cornerback of all time.
College career
Sanders was a star in three sports for the Florida State Seminoles, participating in football, baseball, and track. Beginning his freshman year, when he started in the Seminoles secondary, played outfield for the baseball team that finished fifth in the nation, and helped lead the track and field team to a conference championship, it was clear that Sanders was an exceptional athlete on a national level.
At Florida State, under head coach Bobby Bowden, Sanders was a two time consensus All-American cornerback in 1987 and 1988, and a third team All-American in 1986, intercepting 14 passes in his career, including three in bowl games, and managed to return one interception 100 yards for a touchdown. He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988 and is widely considered to be the best cornerback to ever play college football. He was also a punt returner for Florida State, leading the nation in 1988 with his punt return average, and breaking the school's record for career punt return yards. His jersey at Florida State, #2, was retired in 1995, only the second jersey retired in school history (after Ron Simmons's #50 in 1988.).
While at North Fort Myers High School, Sanders was drafted by the MLB Kansas City Royals, and was later drafted while in college by the MLB New York Yankees. While playing under head coach Mike Martin, at Florida State, Sanders hit .331 in 1986, although he was known more for base stealing, having stolen 27 bases in 1987.
Sanders also ran track during his years at Florida State. On one occasion, Sanders played the first game of a baseball double-header, ran a leg of a 4X100 relay, then returned to play another baseball game.
MLB career
In his nine-year, part-time baseball career, Sanders played 641 games with 4 teams. During his most productive year, 1992, he hit .304 for the Braves, and stole 26 bases in 97 games. During the 1989 season, he hit a home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, the first player to do so. Sanders is the only man to have played in a MLB and NFL game during the same day, and to play in both
