Bo Jackson

From BR Bullpen

Vincent Edward Jackson

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 225 lb.
School Auburn University
High School McAdory High School
Debut September 2, 1986
Final Game August 10, 1994
Born November 30, 1962 in Bessemer, AL USA

1 Introduction
2 His football career
3 His baseball career
4 After professional sports
5 Notable Achievements
6 Related Sites

[edit] Introduction

Bo Jackson was a high-visibility football and baseball star in the 1980's and 1990's. His careers in both sports would have lasted longer but for injuries. During this period Jackson's name became a household brand. The Bo Jackson merchandising campaign included a line of athletic shoes as well as a series of advertisements endorsing products with the phrase "Bo Knows."

[edit] His football career

Named after actor Vince Edwards, Vincent Edward Bo Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy as outstanding college football player at Auburn University. One of two Heisman Trophy winners to play Major League Baseball (Vic Janowicz is the other), he is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Played four seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the NFL, from 1987 to 1990.

Missed the 1992 season after a hip injury suffered in NFL playoffs in 1991. Sat out the entire 1992 season after hip replacement. He returned to play two seasons after the surgery, the first player to play in the major leagues with an artificial hip.

One of six men who hit a home run and scored a touchdown the same year.

College Football News ranked him the 25th greatest college football player of all time.

[edit] His baseball career

Bo had a longer baseball career than a football career. He played eight years in the majors from 1986 to 1994, including several seasons in the late 1980's with competitive Kansas City Royals teams, and 1993 with the division-winning Chicago White Sox.

While on the White Sox, he played with Frank Thomas, who had also played football at Auburn University.

He had only one year in the minors, 1986, when he played 53 games for Memphis in the Southern League, hitting .277 with 7 home runs and stealing 3 bases. In the Majors in 1986, he hit what was then (and what still might be) the longest home run in Royals history-a 475 foot shot.

On April 14, 1987 against the Detroit Tigers, Bo went 4 for 4 with a 3 run home run and 7 RBI.

In 1988, Bo tied the record for most consecutive plate appearances with a strikeout (9) by a position player in the majors. Other players doing so were Adolfo Phillips (1966), Steve Balboni (1984), Eric Davis (1987) and Reggie Jackson (1987). While he was 4th player in five years to do it, it would be 19 years until Mark Reynolds was next to join the 9-K club.

Most people probably think Bo's best year was 1989, when he hit 32 home runs with 105 RBI. He also had 5 RBI in one game that year-including a 435 foot homer-on July 18, 1989 against the Milwaukee Brewers. But, his 1990 season was actually more impressive, when he hit 28 home runs in only 111 games.

Bo didn't just have power. He could also steal a base, with 27 steals in 1988 and 26 in 1989. In fact, Bo became the first Royal in history to steal 25 bases and hit 25 home runs in a single season, when he did so in 1988, despite tearing a hamstring in May. In the prime of his career, he had a high success rate, seldom getting caught.

Bo was a free swinger early in his career, striking out and getting few walks, but as he aged he struck out less often and got a higher percentage of walks.

In 1989, he was named to the All Star team and was the MVP of the All Star Game, with 2 RBI and a 448 foot home run.

Though certainly Bo was known as a power hitter, he is probably best remembered in Kansas City for his arm strength and subsequent ability to throw out a runner at the plate, from the warning track.

He appeared in games 3, 4, and 5 of the 1993 championship series, batting sixth in the lineup behind Frank Thomas at # 3, Robin Ventura at cleanup, and Ellis Burks at # 5.

He was named Comeback Player of the Year in 1993, after he had missed the 1992 season due to the football injury that would also force him to retire from baseball partway through the 1994 season.

[edit] After professional sports

He went back to Auburn University and earned a degree in family and child development. He started a motorcycle store and became a partner with Charles Barkley in a restaurant. He is involved in non-profit youth outreach, and co-owns a food processing and distribution company.

More about his company can be found here: http://www.ngenuity.net/