| Ingredients
Proceeds from the sale of the Gridiron Gourmet BBQ Sauce and Charlie Sanders' book "Tales From the Detroit Lions" will be donated to the Family2Family Foundation. The Family2Family Foundation assists those who have
been impacted by the recent hurricanes and other local Michigan
residents in need. |
" The statistics
of this man's career tell only part of what he has meant to us.
Statistics reveal only the cold facts of a great playing decade that
led to his being recognized as the finest tight end in Lions' history.
But Charlie Sanders was more than a page in the Lions' record book, he
was a leader and an inspiration to his teammates... He has that intangible called 'Class'. Never once did I hear Charlie criticize his coaches, his management or his teammates. He went through the good and the bad the same way, doing his 'own thing' superbly, and setting an example for others to follow. Charlie Sanders put his career philosophy into words far better than I could when he said, 'I like to think I played the game the way it should be played -- all out. Anything less, you're cheating the man upstairs who gave you the talent in the first place.' Charlie Sanders knows no other way." - Bob Reynolds, former Lions radio announcer, November 1978 "There has never been a tight end like Charlie Sanders. I'm sure of that, because I can’t imagine anybody being better than he is at his job... I can think of a couple guys who were really great tight ends – John Mackey in his prime and Ron Kramer for a year or two there – but I don’t believe that overall, when you measure speed, endurance, catching and blocking, that anybody has ever touched him." - Alex Karras, former Lion teammate November 1971 "He’s one of the few receivers I’ve ever seen who when the ball comes to him loses perspective of where he is. It wasn’t until the ball was caught that he realized he might be parallel to the ground or that he was going to do a cartwheel. A lot of players wouldn’t make the catches he did, but Charlie had that concentration. If we called a screen pass, he’d circle around and come back to really belt somebody. Other guys would see that and they’d talk about it in the huddle and it would just get them going even more. He was as much a catalyst there as with the catches he made." - Greg Landry, former Lion quarterback July 1978 "If Mackey is close to induction, how come Sanders isn’t up there with him? There wasn't much difference in their talent or ability, just the guys they lined up with. Mackey played his entire career in Baltimore on the business end of passes from Johnny Unitas, a Hall of Famer who threw the ball with a fair amount of accuracy. Mackey also played the majority of his career alongside two other Hall of Famers, flanker Lenny Moore and receiver Raymond Berry. That kind of talent can make life much easier.... ‘I’m not taking anything away from Bill Munson or Greg Landry, but if Charlie had played with Johnny Unitas, he’d be in the Hall of Fame,’ Lions Executive Vice President Chuch Schmidt said." - Tom Kowalski, The Oakland Press March 1990 |