Players who saw action in MLB and NFL

Baseball is popular for the rigors of its 162-game schedule, which runs through much of the year. But football and basketball practice takes its toll on the body, too. Each sport requires a particular resistance and durability. That makes the select group of athletes who practiced both disciplines truly extraordinary.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL) have coexisted for nearly a century and fewer than 70 men have played in both. An even more select group (12) have played in both MLB and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Here, a list of the players who played in MLB and in the NFL

Jackson has the right to say that he is the greatest athlete of all time. Part of that reputation comes from having been called up to the All-Star Game in various sports (the only one to do so in baseball and American football).

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Jackson in the first place of the 1986 NFL Draft, but he decided to play with the reigning World Series champions, Royals, who had chosen him in the fourth round of the amateur Draft. In 1989, he won the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game award in baseball. Incredibly, Jackson averaged 5.5 yards per carry in the NFL, while splicing 32 homers and dropping in 105 runs in 1989. Two years later, a devastating hip injury prevented him from further displaying his skills in both disciplines.

Sanders exhibited incredible speed that made him a star in two sports. Teams avoided shooting around Sanders when he played cornerback with the Falcons, 49ers and Cowboys, while on the other hand decapitating lines in the prairies of the Yankees, Braves and Reds. At 21, Sanders homered for the Yankees and scored for the Falcons in the same week. He is the only player to play a World Series and a Super Bowl.

Thorpe’s storied position in American football is unquestionable. He was part of the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame in 1963 and his statue welcomes museum visitors in Canton, Ohio. But Thorpe’s athleticism extended beyond the diagonals. He won Olympic gold in pentathlon and decathlon in 1912 and was part of the reigning World Series champions, New York Giants, the following year. In some ways, Thorpe played football, baseball and basketball over the next several years, finishing with a career average of .252 in 289 games at the diamond, with the Giants, Reds and Braves.

He led the Falcons in tackles and was selected as a Pro Bowl backup in 1991, before becoming a full-time baseball player the following year. There is no doubt that he left a major impact on the diamond, spending 15 years with the Cardinals, Braves, Dodgers and Rangers. St. Louis fans remember Jordan’s home run in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series in 1996. He was called up to the All-Star Game with Atlanta three seasons later. He finished with a .282 hitter and 184 career home runs.

The history of American football in Chicago begins with “Papa Bear” Halas. The “Windy City” native founded the Bears franchise and co-founded the NFL in 1920, serving as the club’s player, coach and owner at the same time. But Halas also played 12 games for the Yankees in 1919, patrolling right field before the arrival of George Herman Ruth.

Nevers was seen as one of the best triple threats in American football in the 1920s, for his ability to run, pass and kick. In college he shined in baseball, basketball, and track. He was a right-hander for the St. Louis Browns, while also shining in the NFL with the Duluth Eskimos.

Henson has been one of the more recent examples. He was selected by the Yankees from high school, even knowing that he was committed to the University of Michigan to play shared soccer, where he divided time with Tom Brady at quarterback. In the end, he played eight games with the Bombers between 2002 and 2003, in addition to seeing action with the Cowboys and Lions in the NFL.

• Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in MLB in 1947, was a four-sport prospect in college, shining in football, basketball, baseball and track. Before being drafted into World War II, he played semi-professional football.

• Jackson is one of only two Heisman Trophy winners to play a major league game. The other was Vic Janowicz, who saw action in two baseball games after winning the college accolade in 1950.

• There is only one Hall of Famer in both sports. It’s about Cal Hubbard, who is one of 10 umpires to be inducted to Cooperstown. He also played for the Giants, Packers and Steelers in the NFL.

• A total of nine members of the American Football Hall of Famers played in the Major Leagues: Red Badgro, Paddy Driscoll, Halas, Nevers, Ace Packer, Thorpe and Sanders.

• Legendary pitcher Christy Mathewson; One of the first five pitchers to reach the Hall of Fame, he played football for the Pittsburgh Stars in 1902.