Spec Sanders
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| Position: | Defensive back/Running back/Quarterback/Punter | ||||||||
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| Date of birth: | January 26, 1919 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Temple, Oklahoma | ||||||||
| Date of death: | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day | ||||||||
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| College: | Texas | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1942 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6 (By the Washington Redskins) |
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Orban Eugene "Spec" Sanders (born January 26, 1919 in Temple, Oklahoma) was a former American football running back, quarterback, and punter in the All-America Football Conference and a defensive back in the National Football League for the New York Yanks. He was a one-time Pro Bowler in 1950, his final season, when he led the NFL in interceptions. He led the AAFC in rushing yards and was named All-AAFC in 1946 and 1947. In 1947 Spec led the AAFC with 231 carries, 114 points, and 18 rushing touchdowns, a new pro record that stood until Jim Taylor broke it in 1962. Spec’s 1,432 rushing yards established a mark until 1958, when Jim Brown ran for 1,527 yards. Spec completed 93 passes for 1,442 yards, adding 14 more touchdowns to the team’s total. He also returned a kickoff for a score. Although he was used sparingly on defense, Spec intercepted three passes. He also averaged 42.1 yards on 46 punts.
Spec’s greatest game that year came on a Friday night in October against the Chicago Rockets. He carried the ball 24 times and gained 250 yards to set a pro record that was not touched for more than 25 years. He was removed from the game after only three quarters. Sanders suffered from knee woes and retired after the 1948 season. Despite this, he finished as the AAFC's second leading all-time rusher and all-time leader in rushing touchdowns. He was lured out of retirement to play in the NFL in 1950. Because of the knee problems, he opted to play only defense that year. He responded by being named to the Pro Bowl and tying the NFL's all-time single season interception record. At that point, Spec Sanders decided to retire for good and went out on top. He died in 2003 at the age of 84.
Statistics
| Year | Team | League | Games | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD |
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| 1946 | New York Yankees | (AAFC) | 13 | 140* | 709* | 5.1 | 6* |
| 1947 | New York Yankees | (AAFC) | 14 | 231* | 1,432* | 6.2 | 18* |
| 1948 | New York Yankees | (AAFC) | 13 | 169* | 759 | 4.5 | 9 |
* Indicates Lead League
References
- http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/18-05-666.pdf
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SandSp00.htm
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1946_AAFC/allpro.htm
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1947_AAFC/allpro.htm
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- NFL player using deprecated currentteam parameter
- NFL player with pastcoaching parameter
- NFL player with pastexecutive parameter
- Infobox NFL player articles with small text
- Infobox NFL player with debut/final parameters
- 1919 births
- 2003 deaths
- American football defensive backs
- American football running backs
- American military personnel of World War II
- North Carolina Pre-Flight Cloudbusters football players
- New York Yankees (AAFC) players
- New York Yanks players
- People from Cotton County, Oklahoma
- Texas Longhorns football players
- Western Conference Pro Bowl players
