‘Wichita is home’: Barry Sanders embraces hometown in Bye Bye Barry documentary

On the day he would shock the football world, Barry Sanders boarded a plane to London and faxed his retirement statement under a pseudonym to The Wichita Eagle.

In the 24-plus years since, there remains a curiosity on why exactly Sanders walked away from the NFL in the prime of his career, at age 31, and just 1,457 yards short of Walter Payton’s all-time rushing record.

For the first time since the abrupt ending to his storied career, the Wichita native is telling his own story about why he retired in a 92-minute documentary — Bye Bye Barry on Prime Video — that debuted Monday.

His roots in Wichita are mentioned throughout the documentary, mostly focusing on his rise to stardom during his senior year at North High in 1985, but also touching on his relationship with his hometown when he announced his retirement.

“Wichita is home for me,” Sanders told The Eagle in an exclusive interview. “I had so many interactions with The Wichita Eagle during my high school playing career, so to me it just kind of made sense to go with them. Those were the people I was very familiar with and comfortable with.”

Since his Hall-of-Fame career with the Lions, Sanders, now 55, has remained in Detroit. But he still makes frequent trips back to his hometown to see his mother, Shirley, who still lives in Wichita.

In fact, just before Sanders went on a press tour to help promote the documentary, he was in Wichita for most of last week.

Never one for the spotlight, Sanders doesn’t make many public appearances in Wichita. He values spending time with his family, and when he does go out, it’s usually on a golf course.

All these years later, Sanders said he still feels a strong attachment to Wichita.

“Oh, I absolutely do,” Sanders said. “I still feel very much remembered and embraced and feel like I’m one of the city’s own. Wichita is definitely still part of my life.”

Many running backs have been dynamic in their jukes and spin moves, but no one has quite replicated how electrifying Sanders was running with a football. His rare combination of speed, style and grace can still make for a compelling argument as the greatest running back in NFL history.

Working on the documentary has given Sanders a chance to reflect on his playing career.

Most of his interviews delve into the accomplishments of his professional career, which include winning the 1997 Most Valuable Player award, 10 Pro Bowl appearances, six first-team All-Pro seasons, 10 straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, being a four-time NFL rushing yards leader and being one of just eight running backs in history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season.

But the 1986 North High graduate was ecstatic to be asked about his memories of growing up in Wichita when the City League was full of talent in every sport.

“Even before I got to high school, my dad (William) was always taking me to high school games around the city, basketball and football,” Sanders said. “I remember watching Greg Dreiling (at Kapaun Mt. Carmel) and Antoine Carr and Aubrey Sherrod (at Heights) play basketball. I remember my dad talking about Darnell Valentine. I remember watching Jeff Smith and Reuben Eckels (at Southeast) play football and looking up to those guys.

“I feel like I grew up in a great era for sports and in a great community. Those were my formative years. My foundation. I’m reminded of that every time I come back, just a lot of rich memories of growing up and really being inspired within the world of sports.”

Sanders’ origin story as a running back is well-known: He moved to tailback in the fourth game of his senior year after starting out as a wingback and never looked back. He rushed for 274 yards and scored four touchdowns in his first start, a 29-19 win over South, and went on to finish with 1,417 rushing yards in 1985.

Sanders helped lead North to its first playoff appearance in six years, although his senior season ended in heartbreak when Manhattan scored a 57-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left in a 16-14 win over North in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.

“I can chuckle about it now, but man, it really hurt back then,” Sanders said.

“When coach (Dale) Burkholder first got the job, he told us to write down our goals on paper. None of us had ever been to the playoffs, so that was one of the goals we all wrote down. To be able to play in the playoffs my senior year, that has always been a really special memory to me.”