The Life and Times of Bo Jackson

Intro

Hello everybody! My name is Jared Weathers and today we are talking about one of the most prolific athletes of the 80’s and 90’s. From Oakland to Kansas City. From Running Back to a Designated Hitter. Today we are looking at Bo Jackson. Former Raider and Former Royal.

Early Life

Born Vincent Edward Jackson he adopted the name Bo after his family nicknamed him ‘Wild Boar Hog” when he was a child. He went to school in McCalla, Alabama, a small unincorporated town in Jackson and Tuscaloosa counties. He rushed for 1,175 yards as a running back in his senior year of high school. Bo also hit 20 home runs in 25 games. Jackson left high school as a two-time state champion in the decathlon.

College

Bo Jackson got drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 1982 MLB Draft. Jackson instead chose to attend Auburn to play football. In 1982 during his freshman year Auburn played Boston College in the Tangerine Bowl, now called the Citrus Bowl. Jackson made a one-handed catch on an option play and Auburn won the game 33-26 as Bo rushed 14 times for 64 yard and 2 touchdowns. In his sophomore year Jackson rushed for 1,213 yards on 158 carries for an average of 7.7 yards a carry. In the ‘83 Auburn-Alabama game Bo rushed for 256 yards on 20 carries. Which was the sixth most rushing yards in a game in SEC history and being the second best yard-per-rush average in a game with a minimum of 20 attempts. Auburn finished the season beating Michigan, who was in their 15th season under Bo Schembechler, in the sugar bowl. Bo missed most of his Junior year with an injury. That year he won MVP honors at the Liberty Bowl after beating Arkansas. In 85, during his senior year, Bo rushed for 1,786 yards which was the second best single season record in SEC history. Bo won the Heisman in 85 over University of Iowa Quarterback Chuck Long.

The NFL Draft

After the Bucs talked about how drafting Jackson would be a waste of a pick, they had selected Bo #1 overall in the 86 draft. Jackson said that he would never play football for Tampa after the owner had told Bo that he Okay’d a trip to meet the Buccaneers with the SEC and NCAA. He did not. This trip cost the rest of Jackson's collegiate baseball eligibility.

His Career

As we have already discussed, Bo said he would never play for Buccaneers, and he didn’t. Jackson turned down the Bucs offer of 7.6 million, five-year deal for a 1.06 three-year deal from the royals. The Bucs forfeited his rights before the 87 draft. In the 87 draft, when Jackson was home sleeping, the Los Angeles Raiders selected him 187th in the seventh round. Bo did not want to play football until he met Al Davis. Davis owned the Raiders and was a huge fan of Bo. Al wanted Jackson to play both Baseball and Football. He still got basically what the Bucs offered from the Raiders, 7.4 million over 5 years. Jackson was permitted to play a whole Baseball season even if it meant he missed some of the NFL Season. During the 87 season, while on the Royals roster, he hit 22 home runs with 53 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases. He joined the Raiders in week 8 that season when they were taking on the New England Patriots. He rushed for 37 yards on 8 carries. Jackson shared the backfield with Marcus Allen, another all-star running back, during his career. Jacksons most notable performance came on Monday Night Football, against the Seahawks. Jackson rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns, with a third coming from a reception. Bo’s 221 yards was a Raiders single game record and still stands as a MNF record. In 1988, Jackson ended the Baseball season with 25 home runs. Bo ended the football season with 580 rushing yards on 136 attempts. In 1989, Jackson’s 171 strikeouts tied him for 10th most strikeouts for a right-handed batter since 1893. Jackson was also selected for the All-Star game, and he hit a huge 448-foot homer and right after Wade Boggs followed with his own homer. Jackson and Boggs are the first all-stars to do that. Now Bo’s 1989 football season was his best ever. In Eleven games with only nine starts, Jackson rushed for 950 yards on 173 attempts which brought his average to 5.5 yards per carry, with four touchdowns. In 1990, Jackson hit HRs in 4 consecutive trips to the plate tying a record held by several baseball players. During the football season, Jackson rushed for 698 yards on 125 attempts. This was the only season he was selected for the pro bowl. Jackson is the only player to be an MLB All Star and an NFL Pro Bowler in the same year. On January 13th, 1991, Bo Suffered a hip injury and effectively ended his NFL career. The Royals, unwilling to pay Jackson to rehab a football injury, released Bo on March 18th. 16 days after the Royals released Jackson, the Chicago White Sox signed Jackson on a three-year deal with 700,000 guaranteed. His time with the Sox was the only time he appeared in any post season appearance. The Sox would lose the 1993 American League Championship Series in six games to the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1994, Jackson signed with the California Angels, now known as the Los Angeles Angels, with the season being cut short due to the 94-95 Baseball Strike. Bo Jackson officially retired at the age of 34.

Outside of Sports

Starting in 1989, Jackson started endorsing Nike and with that came the “Bo Knows” advertisements. Bo would take up multiple other sports and even making music with Blues artist Bo Diddley. In the pro wrestling promotion, CHIKARA, a tag team named The Throwbacks have a finishing move called Bo Jackson. Bo was featured in the Techmo Bowl video game which he was famous for being untackleable. Jackson had his own video game for the original Game Boy system called Bo Jackson’s Hit and Run. Bo was also featured as an unlockable player in ESPN NFL Football and was featured in NFL Street 2. Jackson made cameos in 90’s shows like Married with Children, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Diagnosis Murder. Bo’s 34 jersey is still sold by the Las Vegas Raiders.

My Thoughts

I enjoy watching Bo’s highlights. I wouldn’t put him in my top 5 running backs of all time but I do like him. I’ve never seen his baseball back-to-back, but I am definitely back-to-back having to check them out especially his and Wade Boggs’ back-to-back home runs.