Top 10 Shortest Players

if you stand next to him you say man he is short did you see what the little fella just did i mean he's thought of as a little man but he's not a little man i mean he may be short but he's not little oh you've heard of the big story well here's the little story the first convention of the midgets of america which is now campaigning for half fare on trains and airlines for midgets like the real world little people have been making inroads in the nfl security security hey now we got two small children what up but as short players continue to rise to the occasion from time to time they still get teased about their height man you shot i thought i was sure i'm like made too little man he is a shrimp what i look like calling somebody literally one common misconception is that all football stars are towering muscle-bound behemoths that just is not the case some of the game's greatest heroes are quite short in stature while there was certainly no shortage of candidates for this show compiling our list became a tall order after all what should matter more size or talent if the list is greatest short players of all time i think the bigger criteria should be shortness no it's still gotta come down to talent you know we don't want to watch footage of guys playing mediocre football but they're 5'3 let him be the measuring though i would have figured the top 10 shortest players all had to be kickers i mean the grammaticals there's like seven grammaticals they had to be one through seven right wrong kickers were disqualified for fear that they might do just that overpopulate our list in the end we found ten players who stood five foot nine or under but weren't short on big playability short people are people too and in the nfl where big is usually better sometimes those little guys they stand any defensive coach will tell you he's a special player any special team coach will tell you the same thing he's an explosive guy you know for his height and his size he's real like compact you get behind all these big offensive linemen six six six seven and the guys on defense will tell you they can't see him [Applause] [Music] his size factor really works to his advantage he's a true weapon in the national football league the media guide has him listed at five foot six is that accurate uh it's probably stretching it a little bit if he's five five and a half where does it matter it's accurate uh you know he's five six he's legit five six but uh and he plays like he's six two barreling into the end zone touchdown san diego darris foles is one of the strongest guys pound for pound dashing through a tackle through another keeps on driving i mean he came out of the womb i think at 10 and a half pounds so think about this he's only gained 170 pounds in his lifetime since he was a baby and they called him tank unfortunately for sproles that's not the only thing he was called scrolls is little short people have been made fun of all their life they've been taunted all their lives it's way back in roller coaster days you can't go on the roller coaster darren sproles you're not big enough so of course he's going to break an 80-yard run on you he's pissed scrolls puts the move on at the 30 20 15 10 dashing to the five touchdown drafted in the fourth round in 2005 sproles saw the field primarily as a kick returner you have to worry about him taking it to the house every time he touches the ball our number 10 shortest player made our list by becoming the first player in nfl history to score his first two touchdowns on a kickoff and punt return the little guy he's hit the time like that we needed him the little guy turned into a big guy on the field real quick on the back of the end zone just when you think you have him contained he does something special right up the middle to the 40 35 30. 20 15 10 he did it after signing with the saints in 2011 our number 10 shortest player set an nfl single season record with 2969 all-purpose yards thank you coach there's something that makes great players and whatever it is he's got it coming up who refused to be stonewalled by opponents when he grew up he and his friends used to have rock fights i'm always more intrigued by guys who are unnaturally tall harold carmichael seemed really tall when he played he was 6'8 but like all tall players this list was out of his reach everybody thinks i'm supposed to catch every ball is thrown to me you're so tall all you have to do is just reach up and get it a 6'9 boxer ed too tall jones had quick hands attached to long arms if i can just get my hands up it can cause a lot of problem and at six nine and three hundred twenty pounds ernie ladd had an appetite for destruction and food every meal he ate was like the last supper but he couldn't match the hunger of a little giant shortest player of all time joel morris was a little guy out of a village explosive he could break tackles he had speed he runs kind of the way jim brown used to run he's a little guy shouldn't he be trying to make people miss no he was trying to be a plow horse he was trying to hurt people our number nine shortest player starred on the 80s giants sticks and stones could break his bones and they toughened them up for the gridiron when he grew up he and his friends used to have rock fights these kids used to throw rocks at each other big rocks felt like like you got hit with a stone joe morris was destined to be a football player he was a guy who worked out with alignment he could like bench 400 and squat 700. he had a giant work evan our number nine shortest player also racked up a giant vocabulary what has transpired is i've learned how to catch the ball a lot better kind of epitomizes his season doesn't worry about the fruitless things that personify what he wants out of a play this team this team they are so why is morris only number nine on our list injury limited him to eight seasons and in five of them he averaged fewer than four yards to carry he wasn't the poor man's barry sanders he was the broke man's barry sanders but he also broke plenty of tackles in 1985 and 86. it was like katie our number nine shortest player rush for a combined 2 800 yards and 35 touchdowns from his physical makeup you wouldn't think that he would be an impact player and joe really carried a lot of the offensive burden now this generosity look you've got to carry us for a while a passing game is just not there you're not sick tonight are you good your tongue is going to be hanging out i said okay that's fine as long as you know that i can't do it all year 6 20 to go here in the first half sims is 0.00 there's certain guys who always are having problems i think joe was always having problems his whole life was i'm going to show parcells he doesn't think i can play you know they keep drafting running backs i'll show joe if your heart starts fluttering we'll send you down a county emergency get you recycled and joe had the napoleon complex it's like the french riviera they never thought i could do it everybody thought i was too short but before he met his waterlog our number nine shortest player took home a super bowl ring as a bonaparting gift yeah he belongs because he won a super bowl i'm from buffalo so believe me that counts i'd love to be short and win a super bowl once the rest of your life man nobody can ever tell you that you couldn't do it [Applause] people had the question what's this little guy going to do [Applause] deals and wheels gets outside at five foot nine inches warrick dunn was a little man who made a big first impression in the nfl little inside handoff under delayed and done that breaks the tackle tries to get out of there that's got the clutter the little guy does it again work done just put on a showcase where everyone said okay this guy here is going to be a superstar not surprisingly that that war makes this list his height was probably his advantage his low center of gravity you know he could hit the hole standing up sometime how many maybe seven green bay packers never got a clean shot on ward look like he's getting ready to get hit head on train wreck and all of a sudden he just steps inside god falls in his face [Music] in 1997 dunn was named the nfl's offensive rookie of the year and went on to the pro bowl twice as a buccaneer i think the bucks finally figured out his toughness they didn't have to worry about his size [Music] that's all heart and soul number 28. so at some point they quit counting his number of touches and started counting their blessings that they had drafted this guy is a special running back we got to grind this thing up we want this game to come down to us all right in 2002 our number eight shortest player moved to the atlanta falcons where he earned another trip to the pro bowl he was out to prove that he was the man he played with a chip on his shoulder but this was really a place where he found himself as a great football [Applause] the longest player in atlanta falcon history on his climb to the top our number eight shortest player faced towering obstacles when he was 18 his mother a baton rouge police officer was killed during a robbery you don't ever want to get a call in the middle of night since someone that is pretty much your world is gone she molded me and i had 18 years and two days with her to be the type of man i am today to honor his mother dunn established homes for the holidays where the little man made a huge impact by helping single moms and their families purchase homes you know you talk about someone having a lasting effect on a family he's just very very very unique you don't find many work done in this world i admire the guy for what he's done throughout his career on the field but more so off the field because the guy is a great citizen you just have to rub your eyes and say this guy's just too good to be true [Music] coming up on top 10. that guy's the greatest short guy ever of all time he's better than vern troyer [Music] it's hard to believe but steve smith didn't make our list despite the mighty mouse's mighty resume i took a low five when it hit me so hard to snap my bicep tendon smith won the receiving triple crown in 2005 leading the nfl in catches yards and touchdowns but at five nine and a half he soars over our height limit by a half an inch plus even he thinks he's big takes a big play by big what position would you have guessed he played point guard yeah buddy young belongs the list he was five feet four they would call him five foot four but there's an argument that he wasn't he was a tall five foot four i played nine years of professional football weighed 167 pounds stood five feet four and a half inches tall and most of the time i'm running for my life in the late 40s and 50s our number seven shortest players starred for the new york yankees dallas texans and baltimore colts a kick returner and fullback he averaged six yards per carry in two separate seasons he was very elusive and he was very fast he had at one time the world's indoor 60 meter dash record he was about as fast as any man in the world our number seven shortest player was also as fast as any horse in the world erase the colts mascot a horse is a horse of course of course but this is a horse of a different color he resisted at first because he thought it was some you know a little too hokey and i said young there's no way that you're going to bail out that the public's coming out there tonight to see the entrance wide game but they also want to see a man run against a horse they always said that there's never been a track man alive who didn't have a little larceny in his heart and buddy came out before the gun went off and stole about a 25-yard jump on the horse he had great acceleration off the blocks the horse apparently didn't then he let it all go man he beat the horse by 10 yards buddy always said the worst discrimination in the world isn't color its size many in football looked upon tiny buddy young as a sideshow freak an acorn among oaks he wasn't just a novelty act this wasn't eddie cadell if he's so fast you can't touch him it doesn't matter how big they are right i mean buddy buddy young proved that the fan appreciates the little guy simply because what he's made out of you see his quick feet over the lumbering strides of the big tackles and the defensive ends and that contrast holds excitement so if he's eating tiny tiny tiny and he gets the job done he's got a place short people never have to bow down to anybody after people like that and buddy young was a pioneer in the nfl how can anyone be better than doug flutie that means like a holiday when they show his pass against the canes down in the orange bowl that guy's the greatest short guy ever of all time he's better than vern troyer doug flutie was that vern troyer's size he was three foot six and then the the afro made him like four foot eight most of it was mullet is he still playing i think he's still playing because i saw him on a cereal box the other day so maybe he was in it as the prize [Music] if you're like you know four foot tall quarterback you've really got a challenge you can't see anything downfield no no team wants a five foot nine quarterback nobody that is until mike ditka plucked the pint-sized qb from the ranks of the usfl in 1986. after that hail mary in boston college dick has said well let's bring a little bit of that magic here he just didn't know that was pixie dust and fluty was really tinkerbell [Music] mike ditka saw the little big man as a savior that's what he was a great football player if he had one limitation it was height but that never bothered me but ditka's affinity for his new quarterback certainly rubs some of his veteran bears the wrong way when doug flutie came in might grab dug around his arms would have dug over for dinner he was viewed as kind of ditka's pet project that bothered you that some bears players represented him for nothing nope a lot of players resent me they said some some mean things about the guy jim mcmahon thinks you're actually shorter than exactly i i'm a lot shorter than jim thinks i am and you're a lot taller no i'm about five foot two despite the contention flutie was named the starter for the 1986 nfc divisional playoff if everybody else around them would have done their job would have won the playoff game and doug flutie would have been down in history as one of the quarterbacks who led the bears to the super bowl i really believe that but you know i tell everybody the place to go see the little people act in the circus is at the allstate arena in that soldier field in new england things were beginning to look up for flutie [Music] but his head coach raymond berry still looked down on him all he did was keep winning and all ray berry wanted to do was get him out of the lineup the nfl really lost out because nobody could figure out how to use doug flutie early on and he had to go to the cfl when you go up and look at what he accomplished for canada he was pretty good right touchdown after three grey cup victories and six canadian league mvps our number six shortest player was lured back to the nfl in 1998 when i think of doug flutie i think of that wonderful renaissance season in 1998 and how he really created this whole second act for himself every time doug flutie took the field in an nfl game he had the motivation in the back of his mind i'm going to show everybody what allowed another career that he had was he was driven by the desire to disprove the stereotype that a guy his size can't play and win charges nobody on your list of short guys who made it ever drop kicked an extra point in the national football league except [Applause] all right and he did it and that stands so that's enough for me i'll tell you up next who has something in common with acorns cashews and almonds shortest player of all time they got this guy up in jacksonville now that uh he's unbelievable you know curtis jones druid how tall is he five six five eight on his best day wearing my mom's heels oh he got heels on he could sue the city for building the sidewalk too close to his butt but he's not small i mean he's thick he's so massive in his lower body those big old legs tree trunk thighs the guy is a big guy he's just he's vertically challenged you know when you look at maurice jones drew the first thing you think about is like sort of a pint-sized semi-truck that's quick what a powerful run by the youngster from ucla maurice jones drew is like we back up about 10 yards and we run as hard as we can we hit a mailbox we get arrested belted and still on his feet how did he escape how did he escape he might be the best player in the league i mean he's that good don't get too carried away mr shula we couldn't put maurice jones drew any higher than number five on our list because his game has a glaring flaw two left feet we lost cool points at the end though oh then the endzone dance wow i didn't know it was that bad [Music] you talk about miracle games and miracle comebacks a miracle there's a miracle that the greatest miracle in history of the national football league is how in the world were they able to get his name across that jersey i think they use very small lettering on there they give them real big shoulder pads it's a miracle successfully tackling jones drew can require a minor miracle when you hit this little joker grab his ass it don't look pretty grab it it's why he's number five on our list but why is he number 32 it wasn't because jim brown wore it or o.j simpson or marcus allen hopefully you know go up a little bit on some draft boards and you know come draft day be a first round draft pick 32 teams passed him by including the jaguars i was surprised they lasted until the second round we were there for like seven hours actually seven hours 46 minutes i talked to nfl scouts and maurice jones drew was a complete afterthought he'd be a good third down back you know he's a middle round kind of guy i thought they really looked at it and they would have put the stats together i would have been like top 15 pick easy but it wasn't about the stats and the drafts about your size and you know how you look you know i just got to go out there and prove you know i should have been higher [Music] short people everywhere who might have felt angry that they got their view obstructed at a rock concert all stood up tall and rejoiced the day that big bad sean merriman came rushing in to kill the jaguars quarterback i'll try to blow his ass up he's just a man he's not like he's clark kendra and he's like hancock or somebody you know guys that small you can't see them before you know it they ducking behind somebody six two or six three and there they are he was knocked down on a block by the five foot seven inch maurice jones drew but that was a pretty good play by the short guy at least everything came up off the ground he just kicked them all up the only thing better would be if he actually did the lights out dance lights out baby the number four shortest player of all time bob sanders bob sanders bob sanders is a difference maker like maybe no one has ever seen at the safety position in the nfl pound for pound he might be the best player in the national football league pay attention man he's going down tonight he was a hybrid you know linebacker defensive back even though he was only five eight and that's maybe giving him a little bit but the thing about bob sanders not only is he short you get one of the weirdest bodies the next made by schwarzenegger the heights made by a munchkin the shoulders are like superman's the waist is batman's and boom here's bob sanders who happens to be one heck of a football player bob is a he's a big play guy and he brings a lot of energy [Music] let's go baby one hit can bring that excitement to the whole defense and then he has the ability to do that sanders panache for punishment preceded his professional career i mean he's a fierce fierce hitter so he was in iowa too he would absolutely come up and hit you a second round pick in 2005 sanders stellar play led to a defensive mvp award two years later i don't think even bill pulley knew how good a tackler he was going to turn out to be in the nfl i don't know there's ever been anyone at the safety position that plays as physical i mean they might as well put 52 or 55 because that dude's a linebacker coming up and making hits yeah sanders may have ranked higher on our list had he stayed healthy he's such a fierce hitter that he knocks himself out of games i mean he's missed a lot of games because of injuries he plays so much time around the line of scrimmage he hit so many people so hard it started to take its toll with him out of the lineup major difference 2006 the colts have arguably the worst run defense of all time bob sanders misses 12 games that year with various injuries and the colts give up 173 yards rushing per game it was a tough year and especially with the defense struggling because he knew he could make a difference sanders comes back for the playoffs indy makes a run they give up 82 yards rushing per game that's the bob sanders factor when bob came back in he was just flying to the ball and everybody started flying through the ball but more than anything i think he just gave us confidence our number four shortest player saved his best for the game's biggest stage super bowl 41. bob sanders made a hit on cedric benson when that happened and we knocked that ball loose that energy came back on our sidelines inch it's bob sanders legacy that means the most to indianapolis his impact on that defense will be felt for years he's the guy that brought the physicality that toughness to the colts defense it will be there long after he retires coming up on top 10 what does this field mouse have in common with our number three shortest player here's a hint they both call the superdome home [Music] in the nfl it seems the shorter the player the cooler the nickname nolan super nat smith irritated opponents in the late 60s at five nine lavania albert mitchell better known as stump helped grind out plenty of yards for the cardinals in his nine-year career but there were others gerald mcneil the ice cube was a fan favorite because he wasn't much bigger than the kids so the kids loved it [Applause] [Music] my favorite short-ish player nickname don nottingham the human bowling ball you gotta dig some footage up of nottingham and people will know what a weird looking short football player is all about another favorite short player nickname belonged to the chargers little locomotive lionel little train james you know he was a little trained that could he just kept chugging james set the all-purpose single season yardage mark in 1985 but the little train could not beat out the nickname of the next guy on our list number three sam mills is the field mouse you wondered how a guy that compact could even consider playing linebacker in professional football and sam mills looked like tattoo i kept looking around for mr rourke that i was on fantasy island i mean he's listed at five nine but i think anybody would tell you he's a little shorter than that i'm five nine in three quarters actually i said well sam was little he wasn't literally short and and yet that size probably might have been an advantage to him because he had great leverage he would get up under guys and and he would just rock [Applause] for sam mills his road to the nfl began with a few detours sam went to training camp but the cleveland browns was cut went to the canadian football league toronto was cut good fortune for him along came the united states football league he played three years with us in the usfl and he was in my opinion the best football player we had over those three years he reminded me so much of willie lanier a middle linebacker who could do everything when jim mora was named the saints head coach in 1986 he brought mills to new orleans but there were still some lingering doubts i remember the first day he stepped onto the practice field he looked short you know i was going to cut him crying out i mean i never came close to cutting him but i'm thinking god we got to have a big guy you know the worst mistake of my life in or out of coaching a half-pipe linebacker named sam mills is helping the saints defense wage a full frontal assault on the nfl he is a full speed player in the image of mike singletary good job [Applause] sam mills really sort of played my role in chicago in terms of being the leader you know he had to handle von johnson and ricky jackson and pabst william keep everybody together good job sam mills was an absolute genius student of the game there that is huh he was bad man he really studied film he understood what the offensive line was doing how they were doing he knew when to shoot the gaps i remember gang playing against him sam called every sin and rightly called every single play we were running in 1994 at the age of 35 our number three shortest player signed with the expansion panthers he was the kind of guy they needed at that time they were you know a fledgling organization they needed a leader and i think they felt like he was the kind of guy who could come in and lead their defense sam respect the hell of you man you're one hell of a good player we can't measure the effect that sam mills has had on our on our football team i've said this many many times and i've coached a long time sam mills is the best football player i've ever coded coming up which redskins speed was over the top the fastest man in the nfl that's why he played so long he lost his step but he had one to give question who was the shortest player in nfl history there can't be a guy under five five in the history of the league right here's your answer my name is jack super shapiro i played the nfl i was 119 pounds i was five feet one half inch and i was pretty tough for a little guy running back jack shapiro played one game for the staten island stapletons in 1929 and while his gridiron career was shorter than he was soupy is still recognized as the shortest person to ever play professional football i didn't expect to make a career out of football i know my limits are small and it's got to be a big man's [Music] of all game daryl green these nets are killing us i know we gotta yes ready ready go cover your face ready small fast guy very annoying i would describe him as a nat i used to call daryl peanut because he was a little guy this game is about the redskins win hear it it's about the redskins winning guys our number two shortest player had a long career in 20 hall of fame seasons daryl green made seven pro bowls won two super bowls and ate his weight in the tootsie rolls make it run fast green was the number one draft set whose blinding speed helped him cover the entire field when he was in college he was olympic caliber sprinter the only man on a football field that could catch eric dickerson he was as fast almost as anybody in the world but of course the track doesn't pay football does degrees in the huddle talking about we're trying to get three and oh three and oh this is about winning football it's not about just you made the team and you're a it's all times z's kicking in we already lost one here's a guy that was running a 4-3 in his like 16th year here's a guy that's backpedaling at an older age as as fast as some of these young receivers are running forward that's why if he played so long he lost his step but he had one to give two way could still do it baby mayor d.c dale green after he left office our number two shortest player's speed didn't slip i got a phone call from daryl green who said that he had run in florida a 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds at the age of 40. no wait is he 40 or is he 50. daryl at the age of 50 ran 4-4 at a pro bowl event and so that's legit i couldn't drive a 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds at the age of 50. daryl would never be accused of being a perfect technician he could have had twice as many interceptions if he could catch i'd swear his hands were on the wrong arms half the time he drops the ball the ball hit the ground but he had instant quickness instant acceleration and he could match up with bigger receivers because he had a tremendous ability to when the jump was in the air i'm not sure there was anybody really better than daryl green he throws it up it's picked off joe gibbs made a very conscientious effort never to let daryl return punts during the regular season because he didn't want to get him hurt but the 1987 playoffs were another story as soon as we saw him back there it was like uh-oh here we go green driven back to midfield on the far side he's got the ball up to the 45 far side 40. he wanted to win that game so bad he knew he had to score and they were going to lose baltimore to the 30 breaks it to the near side 25. watch out i can still see him hurdling camp bozo and i'm sure cap bozo can still see him hurdling camp poser he's gone touchdown washington redskins and about the 10 yard line you see him start to slow up and grab his rib cage he tore rib cartilage hurtling the last defender kind of like that scene from rocky remember at the end of the fight his eyes are all swollen shut he's saying kind of mcconnum battered and bruised but cut him that's the difference between a winner and a loser the guy that will go that far was gonna win [Music] coming up our number one shortest player was a black diamond in the rough now imagine trying to catch someone's scheme i've never tried it but i think it would be impossible [Music] before we keep running through our list of the top 10 shortest players of all time let's see where everyone fell so far [Music] [Applause] if he's not number one i don't even want to know who's like number one or for real gary they quit counting his number of touches and started counting their blessings that they had drafted this guy number seven five-four buddy young didn't shield his size even played smaller than he was no face mask thigh pads or hip pads number six flutie [Applause] if you can't dance when you're little [Music] [Applause] ten seasons in the nfl averaged better than 300 carries a season average better than 1500 yards a season and for all of those carries finished his career with a five-yard carry average barry sanders is the best short football player of all time that's not even a question he is certainly the best little guy that's pretty awesome it's awesome but it's kind of an insult too our number one shortest player of all time has always been a little sensitive about his height growing up i always thought if i could just get to six feet maybe i could be a good football player barry sanders dreamed of starring at oklahoma for barry switzer you don't go take a 5 foot 765 70 pound wing back in high school when you only got 30 scholarships oklahoma state they were fortunate to get it in fact it was a gift to them turns out i guess i didn't need those extra few inches son met barry sanders and he's like that's barry sanders i'm like yeah he's like he's not even six foot i'm like i know barry sanders is a 280 pound man who was cut off at the knees and had his shoes reattached barry sanders was like five eight but when you look at him he looked like he had four and a half feet of legs [Applause] he had games against the bears where it seemed like they simply refused to tackle it they never had a chance guys were laughing at each other and they were just saying you know what hey i at least touched him you didn't touch him at all i got my hand on his jersey barry sanders can be very very dangerous no one in the history of the game ever stopped and started in a different direction as quickly as barry did when you talk about barry we say that's the greatest run that's the greatest run that might have been the greatest run i don't know how barry sanders didn't blow out a knee about every third play one of the finest running backs in the united states of america and our number one pick barry sanders carrie sanders had wayne fonts as his head coach for the bulk of his career wayne fox was handed the keys to a ferrari and he wasn't sure how to drive it sometimes he had all of his yards yet when they would get to the goal line to take him out of the game anywhere on the field barry sanders was in a goal line situation when in doubt give it to barry i feel it's a privilege to be one of the players that will help what barry sanders did with how little surrounded him insane his quarterbacks eric cramer and a turnover rodney andre where these are the other weapons on his offense every defense was ready to stop barry sanders and he still motored his way barry sanders the guy quit he left the game way too early who quits when you're that good he certainly had a lot left he didn't play that long some say our number one player sold his career short it's just for you like our juicy outlaw rib eye and now try our hearty new flatiron snake only 12.99 or bacon wrapped sirloin just 11.99 only at longhorn steakhouse [Music] before we keep running through our list of the top 10 shortest players of all time let's see where everyone fell so far if he's not number one i don't even want to know who's like number one and for real garen is number [Music] one they quit counting his number of touches and started counting their blessings that they had drafted this guy number seven my four buddy young didn't shield his size even played smaller than he was no face mask thigh pads or hip pads number six doug flutie was a shoe-in for the lids mjd can't catch saturday night fever on sundays if you can't dance when you're little number four bob sanders likes hard hits not hey don't never let a man put some lip gloss on your lip man number three sam mills couldn't be stopped by scissors or paper he would just rock him number two daryl green made a college legend deserve a dutch cat what's your coach you got all that support the number one shortest player of all time barry [Applause] 10 seasons in the nfl averaged better than 300 carries a season averaged better than 1500 yards a season and for all of those carries finished his career with a five yard carry average barry sanders is the best short football player of all time that's not even a question he is certainly the best little guy that's pretty awesome it's awesome but it's kind of an insult too our number one shortest player of all time has always been a little sensitive about his height when i always thought if i could just get to six feet maybe i could be a good football player barry sanders dreamed of staring at oklahoma for barry switzer you don't go take a five foot 700 765 70 pound wing back in high school when you only got 30 scholarships oklahoma state they were fortunate to get it in fact it was a gift to them turns out i guess i didn't need those extra few inches son met barry sanders and he's like that's barry sanders i'm like yeah he's like he's not even six foot i'm like i know barry sanders is a a 280 pound man who was cut off at the knees and had his shoes reattached barry sanders was like five eight but when you look at him he looked like he had four and a half feet of legs [Applause] he had games against the bears where it seemed like they simply refused to tackle it and they never had a chance guys were laughing at each other and they were just saying you know what hey i at least touched him you didn't touch him at all i got my hand on his jersey barry sanders can be very very dangerous no one in the history of the game ever stopped and started in a different direction as quickly as barry did every time we talk about barry we say that's the greatest run that's the greatest run that might have been the greatest run i don't know how barry sanders didn't blow out a knee about every third play one of the finest running backs in the united states of america and our number one pick barry sanders harry sanders had wayne fonts as his head coach for the bulk of his career wayne fox was handed the keys to a ferrari and he wasn't sure how to drive it sometimes he had all these yards yet when they would get to the goal line they take them out of the game anywhere on the field barry sanders was in a goal line situation when in doubt give it to barry i feel it's a privilege to be one of the players that will help restore the roar what barry sanders did with how little surrounded him insane his quarterbacks eric cramer and a turnover rodney andre where these are the other weapons on his offense every defense was ready to stop barry sanders and he still motored his way [Music] barry sanders the guy quit he left the game way too early who quits when you're that good he certainly had a lot left he didn't play that long some say our number one player sold his career short he retired at age 30 doug flutie played until he was 43. doc flutie never quit in his life probably the most popular short football player ever is doug floyd no no barry sanders was the greatest short player in the history of the nfl we agreed he retired only 1400 yards short of the career rushing record a lot of people talked about well he's so close to breaking this record now he only has one more running back to catch the former bear walter payton what was in the record books never mattered to him he played the game because he was good at it he played the game because he liked it at the point when he stopped liking it he stopped playing he already knew he was an otherworldly of running back and he was that every morning he woke up so what does he need the number for to tell him that barry may have come up short in the record books but he's number one on our list as the greatest short player of all time sometimes you just gotta look to the heavens and say wow barry sanders is the greatest pure runner that ever suited up in the nfl and he should be number one on this list number one barry sanders end of story thanks for watching drive home safely

Channel: Isaac Green

Views: 118,216

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Id: -v8dM4ReB78

Length: 48min 57sec (2937 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 17 2020