The RoundHouse | 3/21/2021 4:23:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Dick Sanders, one of Wichita State's most versatile athletes, died on Saturday.
 
Sanders played football, basketball, baseball and threw the javelin during his time at a Shocker from 1950-52. He attended Wichita North High School and, according to a story in the Alumni News, turned down a football scholarship to the University of Kansas. One reason, he said, was his desire to live and work in Wichita after college.
 
"I'm certainly glad I made that choice," Sanders said in 1995. "I've often wondered why great local athletes don't come to WSU for the same reason."
 
Sanders, who owned an insurance agency in Wichita, got the most out of his athletic career in Wichita and beyond. 
 
He played baseball and football at North and helped the Redskins win state titles in both sports. As a Shocker, he played quarterback and defensive back. He averaged 4.1 points for the 1951-52 basketball team. 
 
His best sport was baseball, playing shortstop, and he signed a professional contract with the New York Yankees after his junior season. 
 
In 2003, The Wichita Eagle named Sanders the No. 34 athlete in Wichita sports history. He was inducted into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
 
He played six minor-league seasons, reaching Triple-A in the Yankees and Dodgers organizations. After quitting the minor leagues in 1960, he played in several NBC World Series and earned MVP honors in 1964 for Service Auto Glass.
 
Sanders also officiated football and basketball in the Missouri Valley Conference and Big 8. He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame, the NBC Hall of Fame, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Wichita North Hall of Fame.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.