*Each week leading up to a Ravens home game, a different Baltimore Football Alumni member checks-in with BaltimoreRavens.com. Be sure to continue to check back throughout the 2009 season to see what your favorite BFA members have been up to. ***View Past "Where Are They Now?" Features »**
Name: Sanders ShiverTeam: Baltimore Colts
Position: Linebacker
Years Played in Baltimore: 1976 – 1983
After your playing career in Baltimore was complete, what did you do?
When I finished in Baltimore, I played two years in Miami. Then, I came and started coaching at Bowie State [University]. I coached there, and then I left there in '93 and went to Howard [University].
What are you currently doing?
Well, I run a family literacy program for Prince George's County Public Schools, and I do a lot of advocacy work for boys. And I had a program in the school system promoting academic success for boys.
What made you want to get involved with the family literacy program?
Well, I was an education major in college, and I started in it when I was with the "Welfare to Work" programs they had. I wrote this program called "The Living Wage Project," and they funded it in Prince George's County and that's how it got into the school system. It just ended up in the school system and it tied into the family literacy program.
What do you do to relax these days?
Everything's relaxing! I just take it easy and do what I need to do and enjoy myself. I do a lot of volunteer work with different groups, and I chair a group called the "Inner Agency" which has about 55 volunteers and we do a lot of advocacy work for early childhood and we do a lot of training and different things like that in early childhood.
What was your fondest memory playing football in Baltimore?
Just playing football! Being a kid drafted out of Carson-Newman and getting there and getting a chance to play – that really was the best memory.
Does any one game specifically in your Baltimore Colts career stand out in your mind?
I guess maybe the '79 season probably was the better one, then it all kind of fell apart after that – ownership and coach changes.
Were you around during the Colts move from Baltimore to Indianapolis or had you left for Miami before that? If you were around, do you have any memories that stick with you of that event?
Yeah, I was here, but not really any memories though. It's kind of like if you look at it now – owners want certain things from the city and the city can either provide them or they will move on where they can get it. It's always about economics, as I see it. I probably didn't see it then like I do now, but it probably was a good move for him [Baltimore Colts Owner Robert Irsay]. The fans and folks of Baltimore are still reeling a little bit over it.
What teammate were you closest with during your playing days in Baltimore? Do you still keep in contact with him today?
Stan White [Baltimore Colts Linebacker: 1972 – 1979] – I probably have the fondest memories of Stan. We talk every now and then, and I see him on television a lot! I just like Stan – he's a good guy.
Do you have any advice for kids today who want to be professional football players?
I think you have to get way past professional football. Professional football is one of those jobs that ends very quickly! My advice for kids is to put themselves in a situation where you understand what success is. Football's one part of it, but when you're done playing football, it's the stuff you do before you get that professional opportunity and the things you do after it that set you apart and establishes you as a person.
