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University of Minnesota Athletics
Pro Football Hall of Fame: Charlie Sanders
8/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Minnesota's seventh and most recent inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be former Gopher quarterback Tony Dungy, who will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 6, 2016.
Dungy played for the Gophers from 1973-76 and was the team captain in 1976. After his collegiate career, Dungy signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 1978, he intercepted six passes, second-best in the AFC, and helped the Steelers defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII. Dungy was the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002-08 and led the Colts to their first Super Bowl title in 2007.
Leading up to Dungy's induction, we will take a look back at the former Gophers who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Today, we look at Charlie Sanders.
Charlie Sanders
Charlie Sanders was an All-Big Ten tight end for Minnesota when the Gophers won the 1967 Big Ten championship. During the season, which saw the Gophers go 8-2, Sanders caught 21 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns. He lettered at Minnesota as a tight end from 1966-67.
Sanders, who also played basketball in college, was drafted by the Lions in the third round of the 1968 NFL draft and would become a fixture - both on and off the field - with the organization.
He played his entire 10-year NFL career (1968-77) with the Lions, and recorded 336 receptions for 4,817 yards and 31 touchdowns. Sanders led the Lions or was a co-leader in receptions six times, and he registered 30 or more receptions seven times in addition to amassing at least 500 receiving yards in six different seasons. Sanders was selected to seven Pro Bowls, was a two-time All-Pro (1970-71) and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1970s. In 1968, his rookie season, he was the only rookie that season selected to play in the Pro Bowl and he finished second to then-teammate Earl McCullough for NFL Rookie of the Year honors.
He remained with the Lions after his playing days were over and most recently served as the Lions Assistant Director of Pro Personnel. Sanders was affiliated with the Lions for 43 years. While with the Lions, Sanders became a Hall of Fame tight end (1968-77), served on coaching staffs (1989-96), scouted in the team's player personnel department (1998-2015) and called Lions games as a radio broadcaster (1983-88, 1997). He also worked in the player personnel department and contributed to the team's preseason television broadcasts.
Beyond his direct role with the team, Sanders made significant contributions to the community through both the team's community relations programs and The Charlie Sanders Foundation and Have A Heart Save a Life program.
Sanders passed away in July 2015 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame in 2013 and is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2007), Michigan Sports Hall of fame (1990), his home state's North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (1997) and the Guilford County (N.C.) Sports Hall of Fame (2005). In addition, Sanders was named to the Lions All-Time Team in 2008 and was one of the inaugural 12-member Pride of the Lions class in 2009 that includes a permanent display inside Ford Field.
Previous Reflections
Leo Nomellini
Bobby Bell
Bronko Nagurski
Bud Grant
