Deion Sanders ranks among the most successful two-sport athletes in sports history.
Sanders was a lockdown cornerback who dazzled on special teams and dabbled on offense during his 14-year NFL career with the Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys, Washington and the Ravens. His gridiron exploits earned him enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011. He also played in parts of nine MLB seasons with the Yankees, Braves, Reds and Giants, racking up 39 home runs and 168 RBIs and a .263 career batting average.
Now, the first-year Colorado football coach has his eyes on the baseball diamond again.
During Thursday’s episode of the “Colorado Football Coaches Show,” Sanders said he would like to see the Buffaloes resurrect their erstwhile baseball program. And he hopes the interest he’s rekindled in the Buffs’ football team can help pay for it.
“We’re gonna add so much revenue to this program that we’re gonna add a baseball team,” Sanders said on the radio show.
Colorado played its first intercollegiate baseball game in 1890 and sponsored the sport for 90 seasons, missing only the 1944 campaign due to World War II. The Buffaloes shuttered the program after the 1980 season in a cost-cutting move. Jay Howell and John Stearns are two of the program’s notable players who went on to MLB careers.
