Barry Sanders, American football player
Barry David Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and in rushing touchdowns once, establishing himself as one of the most elusive runners in the history of the NFL with his quickness and agility, despite only having a height of 5 ft 8 in and weighing 203 lbs. Sanders played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where as a junior in 1988, compiled what is considered one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history, rushing for 2,850 yards and 42 touchdowns in 12 games. He was awarded the Heisman Trophy and was unanimously recognized as an All-American.

Sanders was selected by the Lions in 1989 and had an immediate impact in his rookie season, winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. In 1991, Sanders helped lead the Lions to their first and only postseason victory since 1958. In 1994, Sanders was awarded the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. In 1997, he became just the third player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season and was awarded the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, alongside his second NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. While still performing at a high level of play, Sanders unexpectedly retired from football after the 1998 season, at the age of 31, and only 1,457 yards short of breaking the NFL's then all-time rushing record held by Walter Payton. He finished his career with 15,269 rushing yards (fourth all-time), 99 rushing touchdowns (tenth all-time), and was selected to a Pro Bowl and All-Pro team in each of his ten seasons. Sanders' No. 20 jersey was retired by the Lions, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. A year later Sanders was also inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame along with fellow teammate Thurman Thomas.

In 2007, he was ranked by NFL Network's NFL Top 10 series as the most elusive runner in NFL history, and was also placed #1 on the list of the greatest players never to play in a Super Bowl. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. Bleacher Report ranked Sanders #1 on their list of greatest running backs in NFL history. He averaged an NFL record 1,527 rushing yards per season and averaged just under 100 rushing yards per game (99.8 rushing yards per game). Sanders was first inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. He then was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and in that same year inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. In 2000, Sanders was included in the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, and in 2019, Sanders was named to the National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.