What NFL Team Did Bo Jackson Play For?
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The famous football and baseball player Bo Jackson played for the Los Angeles Raiders in the National Football League (NFL).
Bo Jackson’s Early Life
Bo Jackson was born on November 30, 1962, in Bessemer, Alabama. He was the eighth of ten children in a family of sharecroppers. Bo didn’t have much growing up. His family didn’t have running water or electricity. They grew their own food and made their own clothes. Bo Jackson was a bright spot in his family. He was a good student and an talented athlete.
Bo Jackson’s family
Bo Jackson was born on November 30, 1962, in Bessemer, Alabama. He was the eighth of ten children. His father, Jackson George, was a sharecropper and his mother, Helen Burns Jackson, was a homemaker. Like many young men of his time and place, Jackson had to work on the family farm as soon as he was old enough. He picked cotton and did other farm chores until he went off to high school.
Bo Jackson’s high school years
Bo Jackson was a highly sought-after football and baseball player in high school. He was drafted by both the Kansas City Royals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he chose to play football for Auburn University. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1985, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1986. He played for the Raiders for four seasons before being released in 1990. He then signed with the Chicago White Sox, and played baseball until his retirement in 1994.
Bo Jackson’s College Years
Bo Jackson was a dual-sport athlete in college, playing both baseball and football. He played football for Auburn University and was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1982 MLB Draft. Jackson chose to play football and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 NFL Draft. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Raiders, where he played for the remainder of his NFL career.
Bo Jackson’s college career
Bo Jackson’s college career began with a unique football/baseball two-sport grant-in-aid from Auburn University. Jackson had to agree to play both sports for Auburn, and he also had to agree to not play either sport professionally before his college eligibility was finished. As a freshman, Jackson was on the Tigers’ football team that went 8–4 and won the Cotton Bowl Classic over Baylor. He rushed for 1,173 yards on 276 carries (a 4.2-yard average), scored 11 touchdowns, and was named SEC Player of the Year, United Press International (UPI) Back of the Year, American Football Coaches Association ( AFCA) first team All-American, Associated Press (AP) first team All-American, Sporting News first team All-American, and UPI SE30player of the year.
Bo Jackson’s Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. The trophy is named after John Heisman, who was a revered coach and player in the early days of the sport. Bo Jackson, who was a running back for Auburn University, won the Heisman Trophy in 1985. He is one of only a handful of players to have won both the Heisman Trophy and the Super Bowl.
Bo Jackson’s Professional Career
Bo Jackson is a former professional football and baseball player. He is the only professional athlete to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 NFL Draft, but he did not sign with them. He instead signed with the Kansas City Royals.
Bo Jackson’s NFL career
Bo Jackson’s NFL career was short-lived, but he made a big impact in the few years that he played. Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 NFL Draft, but he didn’t sign with the team. Instead, he decided to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals. He played baseball for a few years before returning to football in 1987. He signed with the Los Angeles Raiders and went on to have a successful career with the team.
In 1989, Jackson had one of his best seasons as a professional football player. He rushed for 1,002 yards and scored 7 touchdowns. He was also named to the Pro Bowl team. However, his career came to an abrupt end in 1990 when he suffered a hip injury during a game against the New Orleans Saints. The injury forced him to retire from football at just 26 years old.
Bo Jackson’s MLB career
Bo Jackson’s MLB career spanned just four seasons, but he made a big impact in that time. Jackson was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1986 and made his Major League debut in 1987. He quickly became one of the team’s best players, making the All-Star team in 1989. Jackson played for the Royals until 1990, when he was traded to the Oakland Athletics.
Jackson’s time with the A’s was cut short by injury, as he suffered a hip injury that ended his baseball career in early 1991. Despite playing just four seasons, Jackson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Bo Jackson’s Later Years
In the later years of his career, Bo Jackson played for the Oakland Raiders and the Atlanta Falcons. He was traded to the Raiders in 1987 for a first-round and a third-round draft pick. He helped the Raiders make it to the AFC Championship game in his first year with the team. He was then traded to the Falcons in 1989 for a fourth-round draft pick. He only played in one game for the Falcons before he was released.
Bo Jackson’s post-retirement years
After his retirement from professional baseball and football, Jackson remains active in philanthropy and as a product spokesman. In 2006, Jackson agreed to cooperate with author Mark Vancil on his unauthorized biography Bo Jackson: A Life. The book was released on May 1, 2007. Jackson makes an appearance as a salesman in a 2017 Kia commercial that features him playing ping-pong with actor Pierce Brosnan.
Jackson was diagnosed with avascular necrosis (dead bone tissue) in both hips and had hip replacement surgery in 1992. He has since become an advocate for hip research and awareness among young athletes. In recent years, Jackson has worked with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on public service announcements to increase awareness of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of AVN.