The day Deion ‘Prime Time’ Sanders nearly played in the NFL and MLB in the same day
Deion 'Prime Time' Sanders has come back into the world media spotlight as 'Coach Prime' as he takes the college football world by storm with the Colorado Buffaloes.
Despite the success he's having now, Deion Sanders made his name in the early 90s as one of the greatest athletes in America, playing in the MLB and the NFL.
Sanders and Bo Jackon were the biggest stars who had played in two of America's major professional leagues, but none had attempted to play them on the same day until October 11th, 1992.
Sanders played for the Atlanta Falcons in a regular season NFL game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami and then flew to Pittsburgh to play The Pirates for the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series game.
The day started in Miami with Sanders returning two kicks and one punt for the Atlanta Braves and hauled in one reception for nine yards, holding Dan Marino to 250 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
It would be a disappointing start to his history-making day, losing to the Miami Dolphins 21-17 before catching a flight to Pittsburgh for game five of the NLCS game.
Sanders and the Atlanta Braves front office had created a heated tension between them, with the front office angry at 'Prime Time' for playing an NFL regular season game when The Braves were in a deep playoff run.
Sanders was determined to play in every game for the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs and was fined $68,000 for missing the opening NFL game of the season.
'Prime Time' had made an appearance in the games prior to game five in the series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, entering the game in the seventh inning as Atlanta took a commanding 3-1 series lead.
After arriving in Pittsburgh with a shot of making history, Sanders was surrounded by crowds of media as he arrived at the Pirates Stadium for the series game.
'Prime Time' did suit up for the game, but that was all he did. Sanders never got to play in the game and watched his team lose 7-1 to The Pirates.
There has been a common misconception that Sanders is the only player to play in two major leagues on the same day, but he's actually the only player to suit up for two major sports leagues on the same day.
Deion Sanders had five hitless bats in the Pirates series, and famous broadcaster Tim McCarver criticized Sanders for not focusing on just one sport.
However, Sanders and his Braves team did reach the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, with Sanders hitting 8 for 15. Unfortunately, The Braves lost 4-3 to the Blue Jays, meaning Sanders failed to become the only man to win a World Series and a Super Bowl.
After the loss to Toronto in the World Series, football became Deion's priority, playing for the San Fransisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, winning a Super Bowl with each team.
Even with his success now at the college football level, it's important to remember how good of an athlete Deion Sanders was, attempting to play in two major sports leagues on the same day.