Charlie Sanders

Charles Alvin Sanders (August 25, 1946 July 2, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1977. Sanders was chosen for the NFL's 1970s All-Decade Team and voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Early life Sanders was born in 1946 in Richlands, North Carolina. He attended James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he played for the football, basketball, and baseball teams.

College career Sanders attended the University of Minnesota, where he played college football for the Golden Gophers. He was named to the All-Big Ten Conference Team in his senior year, when he recorded 21 receptions for 276 yards with two touchdowns, as Minnesota tied for the Big Ten championship with an 8–2 record.

Professional career The Detroit Lions selected Sanders in the third round of the 1968 NFL draft, 74th overall. He became their starting tight end for the next ten seasons. He had 336 career receptions for 4,817 yards and 31 touchdowns. Sanders was also selected as a first-team All-Pro for the 1970 and 1971 seasons, receiving the most votes of any player in both years. During an exhibition game in 1976, he injured his right knee, but continued to play until his retirement at age 31 in November 1977.

Sanders was named to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team as selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. and the Minnesota M Club Hall of Fame in 2013.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1968 DET 14 14 40 533 13.3 25 1 1969 DET 14 14 42 656 15.6 47 3 1970 DET 14 14 40 544 13.6 34 6 1971 DET 13 13 31 502 16.2 49 5 1972 DET 9 8 27 416 15.4 38 2 1973 DET 14 14 28 433 15.5 54 2 1974 DET 14 14 42 532 12.7 47 3 1975 DET 13 12 37 486 13.1 32 3 1976 DET 13 13 35 545 15.6 36 5 1977 DET 10 6 14 170 12.1 24 1 128 122 336 4,817 14.3 54 31

Later life Sanders served as a color analyst on Lions radio broadcasts from 1983 through 1988, worked with the team as an assistant coach in charge of wide receivers from 1989 to 1996, returned to perform radio broadcasts in 1997, and then joined the Lions' front office as a scout.

Personal life and death Sanders and his wife, Georgianna, had nine children

Sanders developed a malignant tumor behind his right knee, which was discovered while he was undergoing knee replacement surgery. Sanders underwent chemotherapy, but died on July 2, 2015, in Royal Oak, Michigan, from cancer.