Bo Jackson

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Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former multi-sport athlete who played professional football in the NFL and Major League Baseball simultaneously, and was the first athlete named an All-Star in both sports.

Jackson was named after Vincent "Bo" Edwards, an actor his mother liked, but received his nickname when his brothers shortened the word "boar" - as in "wild boar."

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Early life and career

Born in Bessemer, Alabama, Jackson was originally drafted by the New York Yankees but chose to attend Auburn University on his mother's advice. From 1982 to 1985 Bo proved to be an astounding all-around athlete. Jackson batted .401 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs in 1985, qualified for the 60-yard dash in his freshman and sophomore years, and won the 1985 Heisman Trophy for his abilities as a running back. He was named MVP of both the Sugar Bowl in 1984 (the 1983 season), and the Liberty Bowl in 1984.

Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the first pick of the 1986 draft, but he opted to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals instead, spending most of the season in the minor leagues before being called up for regular duty in 1987, when he had 22 home runs, 53 RBIs and 10 stolen bases as an outfielder for the Royals. He began to show his true potential in 1989, when he was selected to the American League All-Star team, and was named the game's MVP for his play on both offense and defense. This play included a monstrous home run off Rick Reuschel of the San Francisco Giants which landed an estimated 448 feet from home plate. Legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully was moved to comment, "And look at that one! Bo Jackson says hello!" Jackson finished the season by being 4th in the AL in both HRs (32) and RBI (105). In 1990 he raised his batting average as well, but the increasing questions about his football career contributed to a decline in his overall totals.

Following the 1987 baseball season, Jackson decided to again play football (just as a "hobby", he said) and joined the NFL's Los Angeles Raiders, rushing for 554 yards in 81 carries in just seven games. Over the next three seasons, Bo Jackson would rush for 2,228 more yards with 12 touchdowns.

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Athletic feats

In both baseball and football, Jackson's feats became the stuff of folklore and legend. In the 1982 Tangerine Bowl against Boston College, Jackson made a one-handed grab of an option pitch that quarterback Randy Campbell lobbed over the head of a defender. Jackson proceeded to score on the play, despite being hit by several defenders along the sideline.

In a 1985 baseball game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Foley Field in Athens, Jackson led Auburn to victory with a 4-for-5 performance, with three home runs and a double. Jackson launched his last home run that day into a brand new light standard.

Prior to his hip injury, Bo reportedly ran a 4.18 40 yard dash, one of the fastest NFL 40 times ever, regardless of position.

While playing for the Royals, he ran down a long line-drive deep to left-center field on a hit-and-run play against the Seattle Mariners. With speedy Harold Reynolds running from first base on the play, the hit would have been deep enough to score him against most outfielders. But Jackson, from the warning track, turned and fired a strike to catcher Bob Boone, who tagged the sliding Reynolds out. Jackson's throw reached Boone on the fly. Interviewed for the "Bo Jackson" episode of ESPN Classic's SportsCentury, Reynolds admitted that he thought there was no way anyone would throw him out on such a deep drive into the gap in left-center, and was shocked to see his teammate telling him to slide as he rounded third base.

Also, football fans vividly remember his scintillating 221-yard rushing performance on Monday Night Football in 1987 against the Seattle Seahawks. During this memorable performance he literally ran over Seahawks star linebacker Brian Bosworth, who had insulted Jackson and promised to contain him in a media event before the game.

Jackson became a popular figure for his athleticism in multiple sports through the late 1980s and early 1990s. He endorsed Nike and launched a popular ad campaign called "Bo Knows" which envisioned Jackson attempting to take up a litany of other sports, including tennis, golf, luge, auto racing, and even blues music with Bo Diddley. Following on the heels of this widespread fame, Jackson appeared in ProStars, an NBC Saturday morning cartoon. The show featured Bo, Wayne Gretzky, and Michael Jordan fighting crime and helping children.

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Injury and comeback

However, during a Raiders playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 1991, Jackson suffered a serious hip injury which ended his football career and seriously threatened his baseball career. Following surgery and rehabilitation on his injured hip, it was discovered that Jackson had avascular necrosis, which resulted in decreased blood supply to the femoral head of his left hip. Ultimately this led to a deterioration of the femoral head, which required his hip to be replaced. Jackson missed the entire 1992 baseball season. When he announced soon after his surgery that he would play baseball again, many thought that goal to be unrealistic, especially at the Major League level.

However, Jackson was able to return to the Chicago White Sox in 1993, and incredibly at his first at-bat, he homered on his first swing. The next day Nike ran a full-page ad in USA Today; it simply read "Bo Knew."

He would hit 16 home runs and 45 RBIs that season; but while his power remained, he no longer possessed his blazing speed. During his time with the White Sox, Jackson hit only 13 extra-base hits and had no stolen bases. For the 1994 season, he was sent to the California Angels for one final season before retiring.

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Retirement

In his eight baseball seasons, Jackson had a career average of .250, hit 141 home runs and had 415 RBIs, with a slugging average of .474. In his four seasons in the NFL, Jackson rushed for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns with an average yards per carry of 5.4. Jackson's 221 yards on November 30, 1987 is still a Monday Night Football record.

In 1993, Jackson was honored with the Tony Conigliaro Award. He is now living and working as a businessman outside of Chicago.

Jackson was given the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Game Two of the 2005 World Series.

Jackson's legend was further cemented in a most unlikely manner - a video game. His digital counterpart in Tecmo Super Bowl for the Nintendo Entertainment System, affectionally known as "Tecmo Bo" in the hardcore TB playing circuit, is one of the most lethal running backs in the game. Easily capable of putting up 300-400 yards per game via his incredible speed and tackle-breaking ability, "Tecmo Bo" was a player to be feared.

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Trivia

  • Randy Campbell, the quarterback at Auburn from 1982-1983, wrote a song about Jackson that was published and sold as a single in Auburn University bookstores.
  • Jackson's football number 34 was officially retired at Auburn University in a halftime ceremony on October 31, 1992. His is one of only three numbers retired at Auburn, the others being 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan's number 7, and Sullivan's teammate and favorite receiver, Terry Beasley (88).
  • Was recruited by then Auburn assistant coach Bobby Wallace.
  • Jackson holds many of Auburn University's rushing records, including most yards in a season (1786 in 1985), and most career yards (4303).
  • Was declared ineligible to play his final baseball season at Auburn (1986) after taking a flight to Florida to take a physical for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
  • Bo is part of the NFL Legends team in NFL Street 2.
  • In the game NFL Street 2, a young player named Vincent Jackson is a spoof of Bo Jackson, but these two are unrelated.
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External links

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