Bo Jackson

There are and have been many great athletes, Michael Jordan in basketball,

Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, but there has never been a more dominant athlete like Bo

Jackson, No other athlete like Bo he changed the standards previously established by

other athletes. He did what no other athlete had ever done before, he did not play two

different professional sports at the same but he excelled in both.

Bo first received national attention in 1982 when the New York Yankees offered

him a multi-year contract while he was still a senior in highschool. That year he had

gained 1,173 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, he set a high school record for home

runs in a season with 20 in only twenty-five games and became a two-time state high

school decathlon champion. Some people were describing Bo as the "world's greatest

athlete. Bo's college career was amazing. He broke all of Auburn's football rushing

records, set a school mark for the best single-season performance in 1985 (1,786

yards), and became the first Auburn back ever to rush in 4,000 yards in a career. Bo's

total was up to 4,303 yards. In his senior year, he rushed for more than 100 yards in a

game eight times giving him twenty-one 100-yard-plus performances. And not just that

he also excelled in baseball breaking multiple records.

Coming out of college bo had the opportunity to go pro in two sports but he

decided to sign with the Kansas city royals, he excelled as as a left fielder but bo was

not satisfied he decided to play football with the Oakland Raiders he called it a hobby

but he was one of the most dominant tailbacks the nfl had ever seen. He was a

nightmare for defenses all over the league and the craziest part is that he did not
dedicate all his time to the sport of football, one can only imagine how many more

records and amazing things that man could of achieved if he fully dedicated himself to

the sport. And in the other hand he was also an exciting baseball player maybe not the

best but he did stuff that physically was not supposed to be possible he defied logic.

And it wasn't only in sport Bo was a marketing success with his campaign BO KNOWS

he sold millions the campaign was pushed by his greatness, by the stories told about

him, mayne only one athlete had done something similar and that was Michael Jordan

the greatest basketball player ever. Jordan might of been the G.O.A.T (Greatest of all

time) in basketball but Bo was the most dominant ATHLETE ever.

But with all great things it has to someday come to end and it wasn't any different

with Bo. Bo's transcendent career was cut short in January 1991, when an awkward

but unremarkable-looking tackle injured his hip, leading to a hip replacement and his

retirement. A dominant career cut short but nevertheless his dominance was already

established the sports world saw stuff that they never thought that they would see,

things that simply couldn't be done Bo Jackson did. The greatest athlete ever he

changed the standards previously established athletes before him.

WORK CITED

BO JACKSON. Great Athletes (Salem Press), Salem Press, Oct. 2001. EBSCOhost,

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/src_ic/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=02ed8f48-2808-42e2-87d2-

62cd2e8e1450%40sessionmgr4006&hid=4001&bdata=#AN=5372946&db=f5h.

Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.

BO JACKSON: Explora Secondary Schools. http://web.a.ebscohost.com/src_ic/detail/detail?

vid=3&sid=77a06ee2-6f4c-4f9e-a911-
2ff9f31ba515%40sessionmgr4009&hid=4106&bdata=#AN=5372946&db=f5h. Accessed

18 Apr. 2017.