OT: You Don't Know Bo
 

Just finished watching tonight's 30 for 39 about Bo Jackson...brought back some amazing memories...oh what could have been...

He may have been the greatest athlete of all time. I still lean toward Jim Thorpe but Bo is 1A.

I would agree with Thorpe. Olympic gold medaliist, football, baseball, track.....Lets say Bo is the modern day Thorpe. :)

I recorded it on the DVR and am watching it right this second. Very true about the memories. The commercials, the ad campaigns, the amazing athletic feats.

I remember the day that the first football Beckett price guide was released like it was yesterday. I was first in line at the local card shop to get one and I dont even collect football cards. I snatched one up because Bo was on the cover. It went straight into a plastic sheet and it is still in my card room ..... never even cracked the binding to see what was inside.

What an amazing talent and an amazing athlete.
True definition of "Super Human"

Bo
 

This was truely the "golden age" for the Kansas City Royals. WS in '80, playoffs in '84, WS Champs in '85, George Brett: Pine Tar, run at .400; then along comes Bo. Amazing. It was great to be in KC in those days.

Was a huge Bo fan back in the day...Well, I still am, and occasionally still add to my Bo collection. Especially now that they're cheap.. I'm not even the slightest bit salty about how much value I lost on his cards either.

What's amazing is how awesome I remember him being, and then go on youtube to check out some highlight videos of him, and am still in awe...Living up to usually overblown childhood memories is one thing, exceeding that memory is incredible..

Now, statistically I'm not gonna say he belongs in the Hall of Fame(in either sport). But damned if I can't think of any player in any sport that was more famous(or more marketable) than Bo at the time.. With the obvious exception of his "ProStars" co-stars, Jordan and Gretzky. And I'd go as far as saying he was possibly more famous than Gretzky..

And for anyone interested. "Bo knows Bo" was a really interesting read..

Reading this thread reminded me of another two sport guy back then - "Neon" Deion Sanders.

I then Googled them to look at their baseball stats. Both didn't hit very well, as far as Batting Average goes and they also struck out a lot. But Bo had a LOT more power than Deion (and Deion stole more bases than Bo).

No shock on that last point because everyone knows that Deion Sanders was fast. What DID shock me was that on the Google page, it listed their respective 40 yard dash times. Sanders was said to have been clocked at 4.27 while Bo ran the 40 in 4.12 seconds.

So, Bo was heavier than Deion but also ran a FASTER 40 yard dash time.....

David

I have a good friend who pitched against Bo Jackson in Spring Training while Bo was with the Royals. My friend told me that Bo was the fastest person whom he had ever seen and one of the nicest players he had ever met.

The first time I saw Bo Jackson play was in Cleveland Stadium when he was with the Royals. The first three times up he struck out swinging. Almost fell down in all three at bats he was swinging so hard. I remember telling one of my buddies that if he ever did connect it would go a long way. Fourth time up he hit a line shot that the Short Stop jumped for and just missed - the ball ended up landing over the left center field fence for a home run.