University of Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray is likely to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft this spring, but he was already a first-round pick in a different sport: baseball.
The Oakland Athletics took Murray with the ninth overall pick of the MLB Draft over the summer, forcing Murray to make a decision. The 21-year-old seems to be leaning toward football, which reminds former Athletics great Rickey Henderson of himself back in his younger days.
Known as one of the top outfielders of his day, Henderson's first love was not baseball:
“Football was my love; I was a football player,” Henderson said, according to Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. “But my mom’s love was baseball. And she didn’t want her baby to get hurt. I was mad, but she was smart. Overall, with the career longevity and the success I had, she made the right decision. Some of the players in football now have short careers and they can barely move around when they’re done.”
Still, that did not stop Henderson from eventually trying to become a two-sport athlete as a member of the Oakland Raiders:
“When Bo Jackson first came into the league, I went to (former Oakland Raiders owner) Al Davis to go play football and he was going to let me be a two-way player,” Henderson said. “The Oakland A’s said, ‘Oh, no way. You’re not going out there. That’s not going to happen.’ That was my chance and I missed it. I always used to tell Bo and Deion Sanders, ‘I could have done that, played both sports, but the A’s said they weren’t going to let me.’ That was my dream.”
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