Bo Jackson

Bo Jackson is one of the greatest athletes ever; in fact he was named the greatest athlete of all time by ESPN. He was named an All Star in Baseball and to the Pro Bowl in Football, a feat that has never been matched. You never knew what Bo was going to do on the field. No one went to the bathroom or to get something to eat when Bo was about to come up to bat. And you definitely didn't leave your seat when the Raiders had the ball. You did not want to miss seeing Bo do something that no one had done before. He was that kind of athlete.

Bo began to show his unbelievable physicals skills and athletic prowess across multiple sports while he was in high school at McAdory High School in McCalla, Alabama. Jackson rushed for 1175 yards as a running back as a senior, hit twenty home runs in twenty five games for McAdory's baseball team during his senior season, was a two-time state champion in the decathlon, and in 1982, Bo set state school records for indoor high-jump (6'9") and triple-jump (48'8").

While at Auburn University, Jackson was one of the greatest running backs to ever play college football. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1985, rushed for 4,303 yards in his career, and averaged 6.6 yards per career which set an SEC record. In 1982 he secured his place in Auburn football lore when his 1 yard touchdown leap late in the game over hated rival Alabama's defense help secure the Tiger's 23-22 win over the Crimson Tide and their legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. In 2007, Jackson was ranked #8 on ESPN's Top 25 Players in College Football History list.

Bo also was one of the best players in college baseball while he was at Auburn. As a junior he hit .401 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs, including a game against Georgia where he was 4 for 5 with a double and 3 homers!! That's what Bo was best at...having games or moments that very few who ever played could replicate. Unfortunately for Auburn fans (and really for sports fans everywhere) Bo was ruled ineligible for most of his senior year in college because of a visit he had with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That meeting and the subsequent fallout would help change the course of Bo's career as it greatly influenced his decision to not sign a contract with the Buccaneers when they selected him first overall in that years Pro Football Draft.

Jackson was drafted in the 4th round of the 1986 Baseball Draft by the Kansas City Royals and made the Royals roster out of spring training in 1987. Despite showing flashes of being the player his enormous physical skills hinted at during his first two years in the big leagues, Jackson started to put everything together in 1989 when he made the American League All Star team. As Bo typically did he shined the brightest on the biggest stage, hitting a 448 foot home run to lead off the game. During his brief career Bo did things on the baseball field that had never been seen before including his famous wall run against the Orioles in 1989 and his throw from the left field wall to home plate against the Mariners that same year to nab a speedy Harold Reynolds. He even amazed when he struck out, when he would break the bat over his knee as he walked back to the dugout.

After spurning the Buccaneers and signing with the Royals in 1986 Bo was drafted in the seventh round of the 1987 Pro Football Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Al Davis, the owner of the Raiders, worked out a deal with Bo where he could play the entire baseball season, then report to the Raiders a couple weeks after the baseball season ended. Jackson shared the backfield with Marcus Allen and had his coming out party on Monday Night Football in week 11 against the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to the game Seahawk's linebacker Brian Bosworth said some derogatory things about Jackson and promised the media that he would contain him during the game. In typical Bo fashion, Jackson took the opportunity to show the Pro Football world what he was made of, rushing for a Raider and Monday Night Football Record 221 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns, including running Bosworth over near the goal line for one of his scores. On another touchdown during that game Jackson scored on a 91 yard run down the left sideline untouched, and after he scored his speed and momentum took him all the way into a tunnel beyond the end zone. Bo rushed for a total of 2,782 yards in his NFL career and averaged 5.4 yards per carry which was more than any other NFL Running Back except Marion Motley when he retired, including Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson and Gale Sayers.

Unfortunately for all sports fans Bo suffered a severe injury that would end his football career and impact his baseball career. During the divisional round of the 1990 NFL playoffs against the Cincinnati Bengals in January 1991, Jackson was tackled awkwardly from behind by Kevin Walker, who grabbed on to Jackson's right leg so that his momentum made him fall forward. Even when injured, Bo showed that he was borderline super human. Bo's Royals teammate 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." But that is exactly what Bo did.

Bo was released by the Royals after his football injury, and had limited success with the Chicago White Sox and California Angels after a long rehabilitation. But the story of his comeback was not his stats or what he did with the White Sox or the Angels. The story was the fact that he was able to come back at all since he had hip replacement surgery after his injury. Bo played baseball in the big leagues with an artificial hip!! And in true Bo Jackson fashion in his first at bat after he came back he hit a home run.

In 1989 and 1990, Jackson's name became known beyond just sports fans through the "Bo Knows" advertising campaign, a series of television and print advertisements by Nike, starring Bo Jackson alongside Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Bo Diddley, and other top athletes of the time like Wayne Gretzky promoting a cross training athletic shoe named for Jackson. After Bo hit a home run in his first at bat back after his injury, Nike ran an ad in USA today that simply said "Bo Knew"!!!

Bo was a once in a lifetime talent and athlete and we will not see an athlete like him for a long time, if ever again.