“Today we lost one of the greatest Detroit Lions of all time”, Lions team President Tom Lewand said.
Advertisement
Although he grew up in North Carolina, he never left Metro Detroit after his first day as a Lion. It’s been nice to me, nice to my family.
Sanders, who played from 1968 through 1977, died Thursday from cancer.
“All of us associated with the Hall of Fame, the Gold Jackets, Board of Trustees and staff are deeply saddened by the passing of Charlie”, Hall of Fame President David Baker said in a statement.
“Charlie was one of the early, fast tight ends who became critical to offensive success when defensive coverages double-teamed both wide receivers”, wrote legendary coach Weeb Ewbank in the book “Football Greats”. He played his entire pro career with the Lions. Mary Jo Sanders, his daughter, was a professional boxer and a six-time world champion.
Sanders did much more, though. They also set the National Football League record for most receiving yards in a season by two players on the same team.
On February 18, 1998 he re-joined the club as a pro scout. Sanders would hold that distinction for 20 years before Herman Moore passed him in 1996. He is credited for revolutionizing the position and served as a member of the organization in the personnel department. Sanders was the lone rookie to earn a Pro Bowl selection that season. That assignment added to a radio broadcast resume that included time as the club’s color commentator from 1983-88. In recent years, he was a regular part of WXYZ-TV’s Lions coverage.
Because the Detroit area had been home for Sanders since he was drafted by the Lions in 1968, he had friends all around the city. Just seven other tight ends are in the Hall.
Charlie Sanders started his own foundation, the Charlie Sanders Foundation, in 2007 as a way to provide scholarships to high school students in Michigan and North Carolina. Proceeds from the event now fund student healthy heart check events, now provided by Beaumont Hospital and the Henry Ford Health System. Wayne Sanders, his son, played football for at Saginaw Valley State University. After some research, Sanders discovered that this was happening far too often throughout the country.
Tiger Woods recovered from a double-bogey with birdies on his final three holes to finish with a 66 at the Greenbrier Classic on Thursday, his best first-round score of the 2015 season by a whopping seven strokes.
Now in its fourth year, the Have A Heart Save A Life continues help fund heart check programs and promote awareness to help save lives.
Advertisement
Fans adored his gritty work ethic.
