At long last, Bo Jackson is getting his due. Jackson, the only American professional athlete to be named an all-star in two major sports, is finally getting a Hall of Fame induction recognizing his one-of-a-kind professional career 30 years after playing in his final game.
Jackson, 61, will be inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame during an on-field ceremony ahead of Saturday’s home game between Kansas City and the Cleveland Guardians. Jackson spent five of his eight MLB seasons with the Royals. As a member of the Royals in 1989, Jackson was named the MVP of the All-Star Game on the strength of his home run that jump-started the American League’s eventual 5-3 win.
“I’m so happy for my friend Bobo to get that call,” said MLB Hall of Famer George Brett. “He was a great teammate and probably the most exciting player I ever played with. You’d see things that no other human could do on a baseball field or a football field. He’s one of the greatest athletes of our time, and it’s an honor to welcome him to the Royals Hall of Fame, where he belongs.”
Jackson’s freakish athleticism is the stuff of legend. Along with his exploits in the ’89 All-Star Game, Jackson’s Royals highlights included his unbelievable throw out of Harold Reynolds (one of MLB’s fastest players at the time) in extra innings in a game that occurred during the ’89 season. A year later, Jackson defied the odds of gravity when he scaled the outfield wall in Baltimore.
During this same time, Jackson was tearing up the gridiron as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. Joining the Raiders each year following the Royals’ season, Jackson owned the NFL’s longest run for a season three times over a four-year span. He was named to the AFC’s Pro Bowl squad in 1990 after averaging a whopping 5.6 yards per carry.
Jackson’s exploits in 1989 serve as one of the greatest athletic milestones in history. Along with winning All-Star Game MVP, Jackson hit 32 home runs and 105 RBI in 135 games with the Royals. In 11 games with the Raiders that fall, Jackson ran for 950 yards while averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Unfortunately for Jackson, his breathtaking career was short-lived after he suffered a severe hip injury during the 1990 NFL playoffs. Jackson never played football again and was released by the Royals before the start of the 1991 season.
Undaunted, Jackson underwent a grueling rehabilitation to become the first American professional athlete to compete with an artificial hip. He was named Comeback Player of the Year as a member of the White Sox in 1993 before finishing his career a year later after one season with the California Angels. He retired at age 31 after setting a career high in batting average during the 1994 season.
While his abbreviated career will likely keep him out of the National Baseball and Pro Football Hall of Fames, Jackson will continue to live on in Kansas City, where his career will soon be flanked alongside the greatest ones in franchise history.
