Bo Jackson

Lore & Background

Jackson, the eighth of ten children, was born on November 30, 1962, and raised in Bessemer, Alabama. He attended McAdory High School in McCalla, where he excelled in football, baseball, and track and field. He played college baseball as an outfielder and college football as a running back for the Auburn Tigers, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1985. Jackson was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. He played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Raiders. A 1991 hip injury ended his football career and caused him to miss the entire 1992 MLB season; he returned to win The Sporting News AL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1993, and retired after the strike-shortened 1994 season.

In Their Own Story

The draft room at the old Royals office hummed with the low buzz of ceiling fluorescents and the clatter of a rotary phone. June 1986. The GM's hand shook slightly as he read the name off the card: Jackson, Bo. Georgia. Shortstop. The room exhaled. Someone whispered, 'We got him.' Outside, the Kansas City summer pressed against the windows, thick and golden, and for one suspended moment the whole city felt like it was holding its breath. Then a reporter's phone rang. Then another. The story was already leaking. By the time the ink dried on the contract paperwork, the A's had a deal in hand, and the Royals had a name on a draft sheet and a feeling they couldn't quite shake—the feeling of watching the most electric athlete of a generation walk out the door before he ever laced up a pair of pinstripes.

Reader's Guide

Jackson's achievements at the elite levels of multiple sports have given him a reputation as one of the greatest athletes of all time. In 1989 and 1990, his name became known beyond just sports through the "Bo Knows" advertising campaign by Nike. Jackson still holds the NFL record for most runs of 90+ yards from scrimmage with two. He has appeared in small roles as an actor in television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Married... with Children, as well as films such as The Chamber. He has been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated 13 times.

Did You Know?

• Jackson was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 1986 MLB Draft.
• He played for the Los Angeles Raiders in the NFL, not the Los Angeles Rams.
• Jackson never played for the Oakland Athletics; his MLB teams were the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and California Angels.
• His 1989 season with the Royals: .256 with 32 home runs and 105 RBI.