Bo Jackson

[4irishnation]

Best athlete I ever saw!!!! Not even close. They said it was "like a dream" and that's about the best way you could describe it.

 

[ACamp1900]

The XFL was seriously twelve years ago?? HeHateMe is already old school??

 

[Green Mountains]

Best athlete I ever saw!!!! Not even close. They said it was "like a dream" and that's about the best way you could describe it.

In the '80's we saw Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor, and Wayne Gretzky change how their sports were played. And each was (is still) their sports best player ever.

None of them could hold a candle to Bo Jackson athletically. I was at Fenway the night I saw Bo beat our a routine grounder to short in 1987. A two hopper right at Spike Owen. Bo was safe by a step and a half. The crowd was in stunned disbelief.

For you that are too young, it's must seem mythical.

 

[ACamp1900]

LT and Gretzky change what?? Refresh me

 

[4irishnation]

The XFL was seriously twelve years ago?? HeHateMe is already old school??

 

[Green Mountains]

LT and Gretzky change what?? Refresh me

LT changed football in the 1980's....MJ changed basketball...and Gretzky changed hockey.

 

[ACamp1900]

LT changed football in the 1980's....MJ changed basketball...and Gretzky changed hockey.

Ohhhhh... I read that as, that LT, MJ and Great all changed from one sport to another... Ala MJ with baseball...

 

[4irishnation]

LT changed football in the 1980's....MJ changed basketball...and Gretzky changed hockey.

???????????

 

[ACamp1900]

He did.. His ability with the pass rush changed things from deep drop and lob deep to the west coast, shorter pass game... It also put a premium on o linemen

 

[4irishnation]

He did.. His ability the pass rush changed things from deep rush lob deep to the west coast, shorter pass game... It also put a premium on o linemen

SMH Sorry was thinking

Not

 

[ACamp1900]

Cocaine is. Hella o drug

 

[4irishnation]

 

[Irish4Life09]

My favorite athlete of all time.No question.
Unless you saw this live, there's really no comparison. No one has ever come close to what he did back then.
Not to mention that 'ProStars' might be THE greatest cartoon of all time!

 

[In Lou I Trust]

Anyone remember ProStars???

 

[In Lou I Trust]

Not to mention that 'ProStars' might be THE greatest cartoon of all time!

Fuuuuu... that's what I get for not reading the thread first.

 

[Irish8248]

Not until they showed it but then immediately yes

 

[Rocky2820]

Best athlete I ever saw!!!! Not even close. They said it was "like a dream" and that's about the best way you could describe it.

No doubt about it. I was a senior in high school when he dislocated his hip. Hated the Raiders, but was genuinely bummed out because you just knew how special he was, and the thought of it coming to an end was really disappointing.

 

[Emcee77]

Man, what an awesome 30 for 30. That's right up there with the Wayne Gretzky one as one of my favorites. The thing that makes those two interesting to me is that they are about athletic prodigies, guys who were so transcendently, preternaturally gifted that they hardly needed to train or practice.

Someone else in the thread asked who was the closest athlete to Bo Jackson since Bo Jackson. In terms of being such a great all around athlete who could excel at multiple sports, I don't know that there has been another like him. In terms of being a Natural who athletically stood head and shoulders above his peers, aspects of his story reminded me of Ken Griffey Jr. though. Like Bo, Griffey never lifted weights consistently, relying instead on natural gifts, and, like Bo, Griffey ran into injury problems while he was at the top of his game. Just kind of interesting to think about.

 

[pumpdog20]

I agree that Lebron is probably the closest to athletic ability, but what put Bo over the top, was his ability to succeed in baseball. Lebron would translate well to football, but can he crush a curve ball?

 

[irishog77]

Surprised that Deion isn't getting a bit more love-- a hall of famer, amazing football player; a good pro baseball player; he was all state in basketball in high school; who knows what he would've been in track if he could've done that as well.

I'm not saying he was necessarily better than Bo Jackson, but I don't think it's completely hands down or no question about it.




Somebody asked about 2-sport guys. Brian Jordan was a pretty damn good baseball player and I believe even made a pro bowl with the Falcons (until he finally gave up football to play baseball solely). Another thing that was cool about him, is he played on the Falcons with Deion when they were both playing both sports. Anybody know if they played together at all for the Braves? Don't think they did, but just wondering. Aaron (or anyone), do you remember any other 2 sport guys from the Brian Jordan/Bo Jackson/Deion Sanders era?

Another interesting story I once heard (and it may have been from the SI article with Dan Kendra "What Ever Happened to the White Athlete") was about Danny Ainge-- he played pro baseball (Bluejays), pro basketball, and was a scratch golfer to boot.

Herschel Walker should maybe be brought into the discussion- dude was an AMAZING football player (perhaps even better than Bo as a RB?), Olympic bobsledder, ballet dancer, martial artist (not sure if that's a word, but oh well), and MMA fighter. He's sometimes overlooked due to a somewhat lackluster NFL career, but he absolutely tore it up for 2 seasons in the USFL, split time in the Heisman backfield with Dorsett (sidenote-- anybody know of any Heisman combos besides Allen/Jackson and Walker/Dorsett) for a couple years, did fantastic as the sole guy once Dorsett was let go, then mainly made his mark as a return man for the Giants, Eagles, and Vikings. I also remember in his 2nd tour with the Cowboys, he even played some TE for them. And when the guy finally hung them up, I believe he retired as high as 2nd, and no lower than 4th, on the all time yardage list in the NFL.

This thread is great!

 

[BeauBenken]

I was named after Bo.

Really wanted to see this 30 for 30. Anyone able to give me directions on how to see it?

 

[Emcee77]

Think of Charlie Ward too ... HEISMAN trophy winner who played pro hoops for ten years or whatever. He was not an all-star caliber player though. And he was not considered a great pro football prospect, was he? Don't remember. Not on Bo's level though. With Bo you are talking about an all-star in two pro sports. There is just no one else like that.

There are so many guys who have to choose among sports ... You wonder what would happen if they had gone a different way. Obviously there is our own Jeff Samardzija. Gretzky had a shot to play pro baseball in the Blue Jays organization. I read that Carl Crawford at 18 had an offer to play QB at Nebraska and an offer to play point guard at UCLA in addition to his baseball offers, but he chose to forego college and play pro baseball. Pretty cool versatility there.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

Hard to believe the "you don't know diddly" campaign was 20 plus years ago... Time flies once your childhood ends...

The "you don't know" is what made him if you think about it. It brought main stream folks into the fold.... Nike Wins!!! It was a huge windfall for them.

 

[BeauBenken]

Obviously there is our own Jeff Samardzija.

 

[4irishnation]

Huge difference for me is the likeability of an athlete and "Prime Time" was and still is a J/A. Bo has always been a reserved, which may be do to his speaking issues, but we didn't have to hear from him about how good he is.

 

[dwshade]

I think the best point made in the special was the time in which he played. As they pointed out if he had been playing in today's era everyone would have assumed he was juiced up on steroids. Greatest athlete of my time. Could have been HofF in two sports had he stayed healthy. Would have a made a great Indian back in the day considering his skill with the bow and arrow. lol.

 

[DomerInHappyValley]

You're forgetting Bo set state records in the triple jump and high jump in high school as well. A 4.12 at the combine even hand timed is a ridiculously fast time so I'm gonna assume he would have been a pretty good sprinter.
Walker and Deion were great as well but Bo just seemed like it was effortless.
Just imagine what we would be saying if he concentrated on 1 sport.

 

[GowerND11]

I agree we may never see another athlete like him again. The problem nowadays is that even at a young age kids are being pushed to only pursue one sport. They don't have that chance to really be athletes that play multiple sports. We see kids playing baseball all year long now. AAU games all summer traveling across the country. And now football campls all over the country seeking the schollys. What happened to the kids who were three sport athletes in high school?

 

[phgreek]

My fav athlete ever... (Though he was very stoppable in Tecmo Bowl don't kid yourself...lol) and pretty dang class, which makes it better... I am named after Hank Aaron so the hammer is up there, but Bo is my all time guy...


Anyone else watching?

Saw it...

Guys at 30 for 30 nailed it...

He was my favorite too...was hard being a steeler fan and all...

oh and I'm also an avid archer...yea, still emulating that guy the best I can...

 

[Emcee77]

Yeah that 4.12 40 time is stunning. Is that real?? That is unheard of even today. Crazy fast.