Deion Sanders

Batting .276 for the Braves during the 1993 regular season, Sanders was felled by a respiratory infection in August. The illness also kept him out of football for a few games at the beginning of the season, but he nevertheless managed to lead the NFL with seven interceptions in 11 games. He was named National Football Conference (NFC) Defensive Player of the Month for November and was chosen as a Pro Bowl starter.

Sanders made some significant changes on both the baseball and football fronts in 1994. At the beginning of the baseball season, the Braves traded him to the Cincinnati Reds. When a players' strike prematurely ended the baseball season in August, Sanders was batting .283 for the Reds. In football, he signed a one-year contract to play for the San Francisco 49ers, hoping the move would increase his chances of getting to the Super Bowl. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year after tying the 49ers' single-season record with three interception returns for touchdowns. And his Super Bowl dream came true, as the 49ers beat the San Diego Chargers, 49-26, helped by Sanders's contribution of four tackles and an interception.

More changes were in store for Sanders in 1995. In July he was traded by the Reds to the San Francisco Giants, where he ended the season with a batting average of .268 and 8 steals. Once again a free agent in football, Sanders signed a seven-year, $35 million contract to play for the Dallas Cowboys. His debut with the Cowboys was delayed until the end of October by arthroscopic surgery on his ankle. For much of the regular season with the Cowboys, Sanders seemed to be still finding his way, but in postseason play the cornerback helped push Dallas to a Super Bowl victory. Sanders skipped the 1996 baseball season, instead focusing all his energies on football, becoming the first full-time, two-way NFL player since Chuck Bednarik, who had played from 1949 to 1962. On offense, Sanders caught 36 passes for 475 yards while continuing to prove a force to reckon with on defense. At season's end, the Cowboys reported that Sanders had been on the field for half of their offensive plays and 80 percent on defense.