{{Short description|Canadian lacrosse player (c. 1974 – 2012)}} {{about||the American teacher, fiddler, square dance caller, poet, and local historian|Christian C. Sanderson|the English rugby league of the 1970s for Leeds|Christopher Sanderson}} {{Infobox lacrosse player |image = <!-- Chris_Sanderson.jpg -- image does not exist --> | position = Goaltender | shoots = | nationality = Canadian | nll_draft = 4th overall | nll_draft_year = 1998 | nll_draft_team = Baltimore Thunder | birth_date = c. 1974<ref name="Death IL Indoor">{{cite web|url=http://www.ilindoor.com/2012/06/28/chris-sanderson-passes-away/|title=NLL: Chris Sanderson Passes Away|work=IL Indoor|accessdate=2012-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707183129/http://www.ilindoor.com/2012/06/28/chris-sanderson-passes-away/|archive-date=2014-07-07|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Death CBC">{{Cite web |date=Jun 28, 2012 |title=Canadian lacrosse goalie Chris Sanderson was a champion on and off the field |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canadian-lacrosse-goalie-chris-sanderson-was-a-champion-on-and-off-the-field-1.1243732 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020205504/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canadian-lacrosse-goalie-chris-sanderson-was-a-champion-on-and-off-the-field-1.1243732 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |access-date=August 4, 2025 |website=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> | birth_place = Orangeville, Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|6|28|1974}}<ref name="Death IL Indoor" /><ref name="Death CBC" /> | death_place = Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. | career_start = 1999 | career_end = 2003 | nickname = | former_nll_teams = New Jersey Storm<br />Philadelphia Wings<br />Baltimore Thunder | mll_team = Toronto Nationals }} '''Chris Sanderson''' (c. 1974 – June 28, 2012) was a Canadian lacrosse coach and member of the Canadian team defending their world championship. Sanderson was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Wings in the National Lacrosse League from 2005 to 2007 season. Sanderson played for parts of five seasons as a goaltender.

Chris was a member of the Sanderson family of Orangeville, Ontario. He was the cousin of current NLL players Josh and Phil, as well as former NLL player Nate, and was the nephew of both former Wings GM Lindsay Sanderson and Toronto GM Terry Sanderson. Lastly, but definitely not least, he was the son of multiple Mann Cup championships winner and hall of fame inductee, Bill Gerrie. He played for multiple MSL teams such as Six Nations, and Brampton Excelsiors, as well as the NLL team Buffalo Bandits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insidelacrosse.com/wire.php?id=5541 |title=Looking Back With ... Bill Gerrie {{!}} Inside Lacrosse |website=Inside Lacrosse|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418010041/http://www.insidelacrosse.com/wire.php?id=5541 |archive-date=2015-04-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=22 October 2010 |title=Gerrie earns spot in Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame |url=http://www.insidehalton.com/sports-story/2903179-gerrie-earns-spot-in-ontario-lacrosse-hall-of-fame/ |website=InsideHalton.com}}</ref>

Sanderson led the University of Virginia Cavaliers to two NCAA Final Fours. He has played in four world championships with the Canadian National Team, and has coached the U-19 Canadian team to a world championship. He also taught at the Pennington School in Pennington, NJ, and owned a lacrosse company and club team known as True North Lacrosse Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laxpower.com/news/stories.php?story=2004-2659|title=NLL: Chris Sanderson Joins Wings Coaching Staff|work=laxpower.com|accessdate=2007-01-21|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005854/http://www.laxpower.com/news/stories.php?story=2004-2659|archivedate=2007-09-27}}</ref>

He was originally diagnosed with a grade IV malignant brain tumor called Glioblastoma Multiforme in December, 2008. The 2006 ILF gold medalist fought back, skipping a month of chemo therapy to miraculously represent Canada at the 2010 FIL World Championships in England, helping the Canadians to a silver medal.<ref name="Death IL Indoor" /> Sanderson was named to the All-World Team at the goaltender position in the 2010 FIL WC, becoming the first (and only) person in the history of the sport to have been named All-World goalie three times ('98, '06, '10).<ref>{{cite web |title=2010 World Lacrosse Championships: 2010 All-World Lacrosse Team Announced with Paul Rabil (United States) Selected as Tournament MVP |url=http://laxbuzz.com/2010/07/24/2010-world-lacrosse-championships-2010-all-world-lacrosse-team-announced-with-paul-rabil-united-states-selected-as-most-valuable-player/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629131559/http://laxbuzz.com/2010/07/24/2010-world-lacrosse-championships-2010-all-world-lacrosse-team-announced-with-paul-rabil-united-states-selected-as-most-valuable-player/ |archivedate=2012-06-29 |accessdate=2012-07-20 |website=LAXBUZZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CHRIS SANDERSON: Chris' Story |url=https://chrissanderson2010.blogspot.com/p/chris-story.html |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=CHRIS SANDERSON}}</ref> Sanderson died of brain cancer on June 28, 2012 at the age of 38.<ref name="Death IL Indoor" /><ref name="Death CBC" />

==Statistics== ===NLL=== {| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="3" CELLSPACING="0" |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! colspan="6" | Regular&nbsp;Season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! colspan="6" | Playoffs |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season !! Team !! GP !! Min !! GA !! Sv !! GAA !! Sv % !! GP !! Min !! GA !! Sv !! GAA !! Sv % |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1999 || Baltimore || 12 || 663 || 156 || 388 || 14.12 || 71.32% || 1 || 21 || 8 || 11 || 22.86 || 57.89% || |- ALIGN="center" | 2001 || Philadelphia || 6 || 94 || 28 || 55 || 17.80 || 66.27%|| -- || -- || -- || -- || -- || -- |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2002 || Philadelphia || 16 || 346 || 92 || 223 || 15.93 || 70.79%|| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.00 || 0.00% |- ALIGN="center" | 2003 || New Jersey || 5 || 44 || 9 || 24 || 12.26 || 72.73%|| -- || -- || -- || -- || -- || -- |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" | NLL totals !! 39 !! 1,148 !! 285 !! 690 !! 14.90 || 70.77%!! 2 !! 21 !! 8 !! 11 !! 22.86 !! 57.89% |}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Chris}} Category:Year of birth missing Category:2012 deaths Category:Canadian lacrosse players Category:Lacrosse people from Ontario Category:National Lacrosse League coaches Category:Sportspeople from Orangeville, Ontario Category:Philadelphia Wings players Category:Hamilton Nationals players Category:Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse players Category:Deaths from brain cancer in New Jersey

{{Canada-lacrosse-bio-stub}}