This story made its rounds a bit yesterday (see Deadspin and Baseball Primer Newsblog), but I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't bring it over to the FanHouse.Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star penned a column Sunday about the legend that is Bo Jackson. There are some remarkable anecdotes within the column, things I wish were all documented in a video compilation for us all to see. Here's just a taste:
July 29, 1988: Bo Jackson was facing Baltimore's Jeff Ballard. He called timeout and stepped out of the box. He adjusted his batting glove when he realized that the umpire did not actually grant his timeout, and Ballard was throwing the ball. Jackson jumped back into the box, swung that bat and ... yeah. He hit a home run.Um, yeah, WOW. I myself am a little too young to really appreciate the man, but I do remember his short stint with the White Sox. It's a shame his career was cut short by his nagging hip, but at least he'll always live on in Tecmo Bowl infamy, no?
"Most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life," says Bob Schaeffer, Kansas City's first-base coach at the time.
•May 15, 1989: Legendary baseball writer Peter Gammons was in Minnesota to write a Sports Illustrated cover story about Jackson, so he watched Bo take batting practice. It was a typical Bo hitting session - he cracked rockets all over the field. Then it was time for his last swing. Bo jumped into the cage and hit left-handed.
He hit a titanic shot 450 feet off the Hardware Hank sign in right field.
Left-handed.
"I got work to do," Bo said to the other players, whose jaws had dropped. He ran out to the outfield to shag some fly balls.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-28-2007 @ 2:18PM
Tom Fornelli said...
Bo Jackson was awe-inspiring. I was still pretty young, but even then as I was watching him play baseball I knew I was witnessing someone special.
It really is a shame that he had that hip injury. He could have gone down as the greatest athlete of all time.
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5-28-2007 @ 2:47PM
Jason said...
I agree 100%. I used to watch him every game when he started with KC and when he played Football. If, and theres that natoreous IF, but if he never got injured he would have become one of the best running backs if not the best and one of the best baseball players in our Era.
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5-28-2007 @ 3:58PM
FDANAYSAYERS said...
we'll never see an athlete like Bo for awhile..Deion Sanders was an above average player in football and a good baseball player, But Bo Jackson was a beast in both, I still remember that Bengals game where he twisted his hip. He should get in the hall for both sports...Back in in the early 90's it was him and Jordan and nobody else!
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5-28-2007 @ 8:09PM
ajfiojefad said...
Bo and Deion were both incredible football players. Deion was one of the all-time greats at conerback and I agree that Bo could have been one of the all-time great running backs if he had stayed healthy.
But let be honest, neither player, especially Deion were all that great of baseball players. Bo had great power and played great defensively. Deion had speed on the basepaths, but did not steal at an 80% accuracy rate, and, I assume, was also very good defensively, but I don't know that for a fact.
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5-28-2007 @ 10:51PM
srmueller said...
Bo Knows Legends.
He has to be the unofficial world record holder for making announcers say: "I don't believe what I just saw!"
Best. Athlete. Ever.
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5-29-2007 @ 12:19AM
nfcbear said...
Bo Jackson was the best I loved when he ran over Brian Bosworth on Monday Night Football he was a beast he should be in the football hall of fame he has my vote. And yes he will live on in tacmo bowl ( that's the only time when the raiders will go 16-0 ) lol
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5-29-2007 @ 12:23AM
nfcbear said...
He was the best i loved it when he ran over the boz on monday night football
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5-29-2007 @ 12:35AM
ericblyther said...
He was the I loved when he ran over the boz on monday night football he should be in both hall of fames
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5-29-2007 @ 12:41AM
jack said...
i agree with that because when it comes to Bo Jackson i still don't beleive what i saw. amazzing
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5-29-2007 @ 12:41AM
jack said...
i agree with that because when it comes to Bo Jackson i still don't beleive what i saw. amazzing
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5-29-2007 @ 8:41AM
atlantic city said...
Bo does this and Bo does that.
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8-02-2007 @ 12:18PM
Kevin Mcallorum said...
Good for you I have avn in both hips and completely devastated reading your story gives me hope.
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