Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962
in Bessemer, Alabama) is an American
athlete and a former multi-sport professional. Jackson played at the highest level of sports in the United States in both American football and baseball.
In football, Jackson played running back for the Los
Angeles Raiders of the National Football League. In baseball, Jackson
played left field and designated hitter for the
Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox,
and the California Angels of the American League in Major League Baseball.
Although a hip injury severely impaired his
professional career, Jackson was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major
sports.[1] Before his professional career, he
earned the 1985 Heisman Trophy, the prize
annually awarded to the most outstanding collegiate football player in the United States.
In 1989 and 1990, Jackson's name became known
beyond just sports fans through the "Bo Knows" advertising campaign, a series of advertisements by Nike
promoting a cross-training athletic shoe named for
Jackson.[1]
Early life
Jackson, the eighth of ten children, was named after Vince Edwards, his mother's
favorite actor. His family described him as a "wild boar", which was eventually shortened to
"Bo".[1]
Jackson attended McAdory High School, where he rushed for 1,175 yards as a running back in his senior-year football season. That year, Jackson also hit twenty home
runs in twenty-five games for his school's baseball team.[1]
College (1982–1985)
In June 1982, Jackson was drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round, but
he chose to attend Auburn University on a football scholarship instead.[2] He was recruited by head
coach Pat Dye and then Auburn assistant coach Bobby Wallace. At Auburn, Bo proved to be a tremendous athlete in both baseball and
football. Jackson's feats ensured his permanent place in the school's history.
College baseball
At Auburn, Jackson batted .401 with 17 home runs
and 43 RBI in 1985. In a 1985 baseball game
against the Georgia Bulldogs at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, 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. Jackson was declared ineligible to play his final baseball season at
Auburn (1986) after taking a flight to Florida to undergo a physical examination for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
College football
During his time playing for Auburn's football team, he ran for 4,303 career
yards,[2] which was the
second best performance in SEC history behind the legendary Herschel Walker of Georgia (5,259 yards during 1980–82). With 4,303 rushing yards on 650 rushing
attempts, Jackson finished his career with an average of 6.6 yards per carry, which set the SEC record (minimum 400 rushes).
In 1982, Jackson's freshman year, Auburn played Boston College in the Tangerine Bowl, where Jackson made a one-handed grab of an option pitch that quarterback Randy Campbell
lobbed over the head of a defender.
In 1983, as a sophomore, Jackson rushed for 1,213 yards on 158 carries, for an average of 7.7 yards per carry, which was the
2nd best single-season average in SEC history (min. 100 rushes). In the 1983
Auburn-Alabama game, Jackson rushed for 256 yards on 20 rushes (12.8 yards per carry), which
at the time was the sixth-most rushing yards gained in a game in SEC history and the 2nd best yard-per-rush average in a game
(min. 20 attempts) in SEC history. Auburn finished the season with the Sugar Bowl, where
Jackson was named MVP. In 1984, Jackson's junior year, he earned MVP honors at Liberty Bowl.[3]
In 1985, Jackson rushed for 1,786 yards, which was the second best single-season performance in SEC history behind Herschel Walker's 1,891 rushing
yards for the University of Georgia in 1981. That year, he averaged 6.4 yards per rush, which at the time was the best
single-season average in SEC history (min. 200 rushes). For his performance in
1985, Jackson was awarded the Heisman Trophy.[2]
Jackson's football number 34 was officially retired at Auburn 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).
College track and field
Jackson qualified for the 60-yard dash in his freshman and sophomore
years. He considered joining the USA Olympic team, but was informed sprinting would not
gain him the financial security of the MLB or NFL, nor would he have sufficient time to train.
Professional career
Baseball
After recording an NFL record 4.18 40 yard dash, Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers as the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft, but he opted to play baseball
for the Kansas City Royals instead. He spent most of the season with the
Memphis Chicks in the minor leagues before
being called up for regular duty in 1987, where 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 for the
American League All-Star
team, and was named the game's MVP for his play on both offense and defense. His great plays in the game included a monstrous
home run off Rick Reuschel of the San Francisco
Giants which landed an estimated 448 feet from home plate - in his first All-Star at-bat. He also beat out an infield hit
that resulted in the game-winning RBI. In addition to this, he had a stolen base, making him one of only two players in
All-Star Game history to hit a home run and steal a base in the same game (the other is
Willie Mays). Legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully
(calling the game for NBC-TV) was moved to comment, "And look at that
one! Bo Jackson says hello!"
In 1990, he raised his batting average, but the uncertainty of his two sport
loyalties may have swayed Royals management to not utilize him as much as he could have been.
On June 5, 1989, Jackson ran down a long line-drive deep to left
field on a hit-and-run play against the Seattle Mariners. With speedy Harold Reynolds running from
first base on the play, Scott Bradley's hit would have been deep enough to
score Reynolds against most outfielders. But Jackson was not most outfielders, and so after retrieving the ball at the
warning track, he turned flat footed and fired a strike to catcher
Bob Boone, who tagged the sliding Reynolds out. Jackson's throw reached Boone on the fly
having traveled a distance of over 300 feet, a feat surprising both for its incredible accuracy and near super-human power.
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.
Indeed, dumbfounded upon being tagged out at home plate, Reynolds turned to look at Bo, who smiled at him, made his hand into a
gun and blew away the pretend smoke that one could almost believe was emanating from that cannon of an arm.
On July 11, 1990 against the Baltimore Orioles, Jackson performed his famous "wall run", when he caught a ball approximately 2-3
strides away from the wall. As he caught the ball at full tilt, Jackson looked up and noticed the wall and began to run up the
wall, one leg reaching higher as he ascended. He ran along the wall almost parallel to the ground, and came down with the catch,
to avoid impact and the risk of injury from the fence.
Before Jackson finished his career in California he spent two years playing for the Chicago White Sox. After a poor at bat he
was known to snap the bat over his knee, or with his helmet on, over his head. While with the Sox, Jackson promised his mom that
once he returned from his hip replacement surgery that he would hit a home run for her. Well before he could return, his mother
passed away. In his first at bat after surgery he hit a home run to right field. He has since recovered the ball and has it
engraved in her tombstone.
In his eight baseball seasons, Jackson had a career batting average of .250, hit 141 home runs and had 415 RBIs, with a
slugging average of .474. His best year was 1989, with his effort earning him
all-star status. In '89 Bo ranked fourth in the league in both homers and RBI with 32/105.
Notable achievements
- AL All-Star (1989)
- 1989 All-Star Game MVP
- 1993 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1987-1990)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1989)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1989)
Football
Jackson was drafted first overall in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, Jackson wanted to be a professional baseball player, so he rejected
the Buccaneers' five-year offer. Since he did not sign with a team by the 1987 draft, the
rights to him were forfeited by Tampa Bay and his name was thrown back into the draft. The Oakland Raiders selected Jackson in the 7th round with the 183rd overall pick.[4] Raiders owner Al Davis supported Jackson and his baseball career and got Jackson to sign a contract by offering him a salary
that was comparable to a full-time starting running back but allowing Jackson to only play
part-time after the baseball season was done.
Joining the Raiders midway through the 1987 season, Jackson rushed for 554 yards on 81 carries in just seven games. Over the
next three seasons, Bo Jackson would rush for 2,228 more yards and 12 touchdowns: a remarkable
achievement, in light of the fact that he was a "second string" player behind Raiders legend Marcus Allen.
Jackson turned in a 221-yard rushing performance on Monday Night
Football in 1987 against the Seattle
Seahawks. During this game, he ran over Seahawks star linebacker Brian Bosworth, who had insulted Jackson and promised in a media event before the game to contain
Jackson. He also made a 91-yard run to the outside, untouched down the sideline. He continued sprinting until finally slowing down as he passed through the entrance to the field tunnel to the
dressing rooms with teammates soon following.
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. He
also caught 40 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson's 221 yards on November 30,
1987, just 29 days after his first NFL carry, is still a Monday Night Football
record.
Injury and comeback
During a Raiders playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 1990, Jackson suffered a serious hip injury which ended his football career and seriously
threatened his baseball career. After Bo Jackson was tackled and lying in pain on the ground, he popped his hip back into place.
In an interview on Untold, George Brett who attended the game said he
asked the trainer what had happened to Bo. The trainer replied "Bo says he felt his hip come out of the socket, so he popped it
back in, but that's just impossible, no one's that strong."
Following surgery and rehabilitation on his injured hip, it was discovered that Jackson had avascular necrosis, as a result of decreased blood supply to the head of his left femur. This caused deterioration of the femoral head, ultimately requiring that the hip 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.
Jackson was able to return to the Chicago White Sox in 1993, and incredibly at his first at-bat, against the New York Yankees, 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 had no stolen bases. For the 1994 season,
he was signed as a free agent by the California Angels for one final season before retiring.
Popularity
"Bo Knows... "
Jackson became a popular figure for his athleticism in multiple sports through the late 1980s and early 1990s. He endorsed
Nike and was involved in 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 playing
blues music with Bo Diddley, who scolded Jackson by telling
him "You don't know diddley!"[5] (In a later
version of the spot, Jackson is shown playing the guitar expertly, after which an impressed Diddley says, "Bo...you do
know Diddley, don't you?")
Another clip, envisioning Jackson playing ice hockey, was followed by Wayne Gretzky shaking his head in disbelief and dismissing the effort with a quick "No." (In his
autobiography, Gretzky says his negative rejoinder came in frustration after mutiple takes of him saying "Bo knows hockey!" that
director didn't like. He also said the bits showing Bo playing hockey were actually filmed on a wooden floor, with Jackson in
stocking feet.) T shirts sold by Nike capitalizing on their successful ad campaign had a list of
Jackson's sports - both real and imagined - with hockey crossed out.
In a later spot, Jackson sees all the hoopla surrounding him and says, "I have rehab to do! I don't have time for this!",
after which boxer George Foreman says, "But I do!" and steps in to finish the commercial,
now re-dubbed "George Knows."
Jackson also poked fun at the ad campaign during a guest appearance on a first season episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. In the scene, he
played basketball with Clark, portrayed by
Dean Cain. Bo clearly is the better athlete, until Clark uses his flying abilities to catch
the ball. Bo replies, "Bo don't know that!"
Bo also made an appearance during in an episode of Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air with Will Smith where he asks Will, as "his close personal friend", some
advice on what to cook for a party saying "an' when it comes to cooking, Bo don't know diddley".
Bo is also known as the most unstoppable player in Tecmo Super Bowl, a
Nintendo game that was incredibly popular during Bo's career. Even though Tecmo's stats for
Bo's player profile do not list his abilities as superhuman when compared to other running backs, Bo clearly is the most dominant
athlete both in Tecmo Super Bowl, and in video game history. Many tournaments banned the Raiders due to the fact that using Bo
gave the Raiders an overwhelmingly unfair advantage. Other players that almost came with this quirk were Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders.
ProStars
Following on the heels of this widespread fame, Jackson appeared in ProStars, an
NBC Saturday morning cartoon. The show featured
Wayne Gretzky, and Michael Jordan fighting crime
and helping children.
Life after sports
In 1993, Jackson was honored with the Tony
Conigliaro Award. In 1995, he completed his bachelor of science degree at Auburn to fulfill the promise he made to his
mother.[2]
Through the 1990s, Jackson dabbled in acting, having made several television guest appearances first on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990 as well as Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and
Married with Children. He later appeared in small roles in the films
The Chamber and Fakin' Da
Funk.
Jackson served as the President of the HealthSouth Sports Medicine Council, part of Birmingham, Alabama based HealthSouth Corporation. He was also
spokesman for HealthSouth's "Go For It": Roadshow.
Jackson was given the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Game Two of the 2005 World Series.
In 2006, Jackson appeared on the Spike TV sports reality show, Pros vs. Joes. In his second appearance,
he easily defeated amateur athletes in a home run hitting contest. When he bunted
instead of swinging on his final try for a home run, the announcer stated, "Bo knows taunting."
In 2007 Bo came together with John Cangelosi to form Bo Jackson's Elite Sports, a 88,000 square foot multi-sports facility in
Lockport, Illinois.
Video games
Bo Jackson's Hit and Run for the
Game Boy portable video game system.
Jackson's legend was further cemented by his digital counterpart, affectionately known as "Tecmo Bo", in the video game
Tecmo Super Bowl for the Nintendo Entertainment System. "Tecmo Bo" is one of the best running backs -- and arguably the most lethal athlete -- in video game history.[6] Players using "Tecmo Bo" have been able to rush for 300-400 yards per game.
In retirement, his legend is intertwined with what many 25-35 year-olds recall as the second golden age of home video gaming.
Jackson has commented that fans will often come up to him and regale him with stories not of his actual football feats, but
rather memorable Tecmo Bowl plays.[7]
Bo also had his own video game for the original Game Boy portable gaming system, Bo
Jackson's Hit and Run. The game featured both baseball and football, but had no pro licenses for either sport and could not
use any team or players' names. Released around the same time was Bo Jackson Baseball for the Nintendo NES system and IBM compatible computers. The game
was heavily criticized by game reviewers and obtained poor sales results.
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 gave his MVP trophy from the 1984 Sugar Bowl to
fellow running back Lionel James, who mentored
Jackson during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
- Jackson was still the first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he said he would not play with the team the day
before the draft and decided to concentrate on his baseball career and later he again entered the draft in 1987 and was drafted
by the Raiders in the seventh round.
- Jackson is part of the NFL Legends team in NFL Street 2. Also in the game is a young
player named Vincent Jackson who is a character in Own the City Mode, but the two are unrelated.
- Jackson appears in the opening scene for the telecasts for SEC football on CBS as a member of the Auburn Tigers.
- Bo made a cameo appearance in the Sesame Street sing along, Wubba Wubba Wubba, singing the "Monster in the Mirror" song with Grover. He also did a version of "Bo Knows" using the Sesame Street characters, for example, Big Bird vouching
for Bo knowing letters, the Count for Bo knowing counting, Elmo for Bo knowing empty and full, and so on.
- Bo is one of only two running backs in the history of the NFL with two rushes from scrimmage of over 90 yards, despite his
short career.
- Bo's most famous baseball card is his 1990 Score card picturing him (in black and white) wearing shoulder pads and holding a
baseball bat behind him on his shoulders. This card sold for $10 or more by itself during his peak popularity[citation needed], but now sells for much less.
- Jackson batted only once left handed, hitting a 450+ foot home run in batting practice from a borrowed bat.
Quotes
- "Back before I injured my hip, I thought going to the gym was for wimps."
- "Being the 8th out of 10 kids, and being the one that stayed in trouble, I sort of became a momma's boy."
- "Don't sell yourself short because without that you can't go far in life because after sports the only thing you know is
sports and you can't do anything else with that."--Bo on life after sports.
- "First of all, I really never imagined myself being a professional athlete."
- "I also tell them that your education can take you way farther than a football, baseball, track, or basketball will - that's
just the bottom line."--Bo Jackson on education
- "I am a firm believer in if you can't get it the old fashioned way, you don't need it"--Bo Jackson on earning things.
- "I guarantee you that's what Jeff Gordon does. He uses everything the fans throw at him to stoke his fire and it drives him
to be better at what he does."--Bo Jackson on Jeff Gordon
See also
References
- Biographies
- Gutman, Bill, Bo Jackson, 1991, Simon Spotlight Entertainment
- White, Ellen Emerson, Bo Jackson: Playing the Games, 1990
External links
Information
Statistics
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
