Everybody wants to be John Elway. A Major League Baseball prospect and the top college football player in the nation. He picked one sport and did pretty well for himself. Many high school athletes are two sports stars and most recent example is, Terrelle Pryor the top HS football recruit in the nation also happened to be a top 100 basketball recruit as well.
During the first days of Business schools they teach you that partnerships don't work. In the last days of senior high they should teach these High School dual sports stars that playing two sports in college doesn't work either. Terrelle, even though getting poor advice on where to attend school, seemed to have gotten good advice on this topic and announced this winter he would only be playing football for the Buckeyes.
As we look back at "high profile" two sports stars it's hard not to think about Drew Henson, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and even Rick Leach. Michigan as been home to two high profile QB's that tried their hand at Professional Baseball.
Drew pretty much broke our hearts as Wolverine fans. Sports Illustrated tabbed him the "Golden Boy" ten years ago. A can't miss prospect for both Baseball and Football. We all remember him backing up Brady and when he finally got his shot he got hurt and then came in (after sitting for 4 games) and beat Illinois on the road when it looked like the Wolverines were headed for a loss. He ends his career with a win against OSU in Columbus and an Orange Bowl victory before he jettisons off to the Yankees with one more year left in Ann Arbor. The story goes, on the way up to his announcement the brand new Houston Texan's call his cell phone and tell him not to play baseball full time that he would be their #1 pick in the draft that next year (and the #1 pick overall). Well, we all know too well he choose baseball and baseball found out he couldn't hit the curve ball. He played 8 games in the majors and got one hit. He hung up his baseball cleats and tried Football one more time but that didn't work out well either. He threw for one NFL touchdown with the Cowboys before getting released.
Rick Leach was basically Drew Henson before Drew Henson was born. Same sort of guy (and would have been perfect for RR's offense by the way). He broke Big Ten records for touchdowns (82) total offense (6460) and touchdown passes (48) but baseball was where his true calling was as a can't miss prospect. Well he did miss, he played 10 years in the league as basically a back up for the Tigers and Blue Jays, his career average was .268 and he hit a total of 18 home runs.
Those are Michigan's most famous examples of two sports stars flaming out. We all know about Deion trying to play baseball (even Jordan trying it) and how close Bo Jackson actually got to being great in two sports. If your a two sport star and a high school senior (Dion Sims is a good example this year, he is prospect for both Basketball as a 6"5 forward or football as a TE in the State of Michigan) and a top prospect in both sports, do yourself a favor and pick one sport and do your best to succeeded in it. Your never know what the professional ranks have in store for you.
Side Note: I did not take into account sports like track. Of course it's natural for football player to run track as well. Track (unless your world class) doesn't really have the professional opportunities as do Basketball, Football, or Baseball.
Second Side Note: You may not know that Frank Thomas played (Tight End as a Freshman and caught 3 passes for 45 yards) football with Bo Jackson at Auburn for a year before he decided to stick to Baseball. Good Move Frank!!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Two Sports Stars fail in the end and Michigan has two high profile examples
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I have to disagree with the title of your Blog implying that “two sport athletes fail in the end.” While you have some good UM examples here, let’s not forget that these folks are the top echelon of athletes to play in their respective sports.
Less than one percent of all Division I athletes make it to the next level in their professional sports leagues. To make it to the professional ranks in one sport should be considered phenomenal, let alone making it in two sports! Far be it from being considered a failure because an athlete doesn’t get inducted into the Hall of Fame in both sports.
With respect to “how close Bo Jackson came to being great in two sports”, who knows where his dual professional career may have ended if it weren’t for his football injury that led to hip replacement surgery. He spent 8 years in the major leagues with a career .250 batting average; on base percentage of .309; slugging percentage of .474; had 415 RBI’s and hit 141 home runs.
As a part-time running back for the Raiders, he ran for 2,782 yards on 515 carries, an impressive 5.4 average, and scored 18 touchdowns in the 1987-90 period. He is the only player in NFL history to have two rushing touchdowns of 90 yards or more.
Bo Jackson was the first athlete named to play in the All-Star Game of two major sports.
With respect to Deion Sanders “trying to play baseball”…He played nine seasons in the Major League, albeit as a part timer due to his football commitments. During his most productive year, 1992, he hit .304 for the Braves, stole 26 bases, and led the National League with 14 triples in 97 games. During the 1989 season, he hit a home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, the first (and only) player to do so. Sanders is the only man to play in both a Superbowl and a World Series.
In four games of the 1992 World Series, Sanders batted .533 with 4 runs, 8 hits, 2 doubles, and 1 RBI while playing with a broken bone in his foot. In 1997, Sanders finished 2nd in the National League with 56 stolen bases in 115 games.
Your Blog mentions Jordan trying it at baseball. I have to assume you mean Michael. However, let’s not forget Brian Jordan who was a successful two sport athlete playing in both the NFL and MLB. Jordan played defensive back for the Falcons for three seasons. While his NFL career was short, in 1990, he led all cornerbacks with 193 tackles. He had five interceptions and four sacks before deciding to give up football to concentrate on baseball.
Jordan had a solid 15 year career in the Major’s with a career .282 batting average; 184 home runs; and 821 RBI’s. He signed a $21 million contract with the Braves in 1992.
And must we forget the two sport Heisman Trophy winner of 1993, Charlie Ward. He led his team to the National Championship that year… the first to do so since Tony Dorsett in 1976. While he did not get drafted in the ensuing NFL draft, he was a first round draft pick by the New York Knicks in the 1994 NBA draft. Ward spent 13 seasons in the NBA. Had it not been for him pursuing a second sport, he may have had a stellar career in the Arena Football League or CFL.
Big House…maybe I’ve missed your point here. But mine is this – there are a lot of one sport athletes who never made it to the elite leagues in their respective professional sports. Not everyone player makes it into the Hall of Fame…which doesn’t make them a failure in their sport. Don’t be too quick to direct those with the god gifted talent to perform at that elite level in multiple sports toward choosing between them. The next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders might some day play college ball in Ann Arbor.
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