It was on this day in 1988 that Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders was named the Hesiman trophy winner.  Sanders beat out Rodney Peete and future Hall-of-Famer Troy Aikman, who finished second and third in the voting, respectively.

Barry Sanders’ 1988 college football season is considered by many to be one of the greatest seasons in college football history.  Sanders averaged over 200 yards rushing per game to go along with his 7.6 yards per carry average.  He set several college records, including most rushing yards in a season (2,628), most total yards (3,248), most rushing touchdowns (37), most total touchdowns (39) and most consecutive 200 yard rushing games (5).  In the Holiday Bowl, Sanders played in only the first three quarters, but still managed 222 rushing yards and five touchdowns.  Barry decided to skip his senior season in order to enter the 1989 NFL Draft.

The Detroit Lions held the #3 overall pick and used it to pick Sanders.  He went on to have a brilliant professional career and to this day is still considered one of the best running backs of all-time.  He surprised the football world by retiring at age 30, and at the time of his retirement was less than 1500 rushing yards away from Walter Payton’s all-time mark.

Here is a tribute to Barry Sanders.

Notable Birthdays

Lindsey Hunter, NBA – Born December 3rd 1970 (age 42) in Utica, Mississippi

Paul Byrd, MLB – Born December 3rd 1970 (age 42) in Louisville, Kentucky

Rock Cartwright, NFL – Born December 3rd 1979 (age 33) in Conroe, Texas