Bo Jackson chosen for Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame

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Bo Jackson chosen for Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame

Updated: Mar. 13, 2024, 11:06 a.m.|Published: Mar. 13, 2024, 10:55 a.m.

3–4 minutes

Kansas City Royals left fielder Bo Jackson comes down with the baseball after robbing the New York Yankees’ Jack Clark of a home run during an American League game on July 10, 1988, at Yankee Stadium in New York.(AP Photo)

By

Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Auburn running back Bo Jackson with the No. 1 pick in the 1986 NFL Draft, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner stunned the sports world.

Instead of signing with the Bucs to start his NFL career, Jackson signed with the Kansas City Royals after the Major League Baseball team selected him in the fourth round of the 1986 First-Year Player Draft.

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After 53 games with the Memphis Chicks of the Double-A Southern League, Jackson made his Major League debut with the Royals on Sept. 2, 1986.

On Wednesday, the American League team announced Jackson had been elected to the Royals Hall of Fame. The former McAdory High School standout will be inducted during a ceremony at Kauffman Stadium on June 29 before Kansas City’s game against the Cleveland Guardians.

“I’m so happy for my friend Bobo to get that call,” Baseball Hall of Fame member, 13-time All-Star and former Royals third baseman George Brett said in a release from the team. “He was a great teammate and probably the most exciting player I ever played with. You’d see things that no other human could do on a baseball field or a football field. He’s one of the greatest athletes of our time, and it’s an honor to welcome him to the Royals Hall of Fame, where he belongs.”

Jackson played in five seasons with the Royals. In 1989, the outfielder batted leadoff for the American League in the MLB All-Star Game and homered to start the bottom of the first. Later in the contest, Jackson became the first player to hit a home run and steal a base in the same All-Star Game.

Jackson finished the 1989 season with 32 home runs and 105 runs batted in.

Jackson did eventually return to football and played in four seasons for the Los Angeles Raiders after his baseball season had ended.

A hip injury sustained in a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 13, 1991, ended Jackson’s football career and curtailed his baseball career. He played 183 games in three more MLB seasons – two with the Chicago White Sox and one with the California Angels – after the injury.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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