Royals History: Remembering Bo Jackson 30 Years Later

Media Sensation

Bo Jackson wowed fans of both the NFL and MLB. He regularly performed feats that seemed impossible for others in both sports, but it was his baseball highlights that seemed truly legendary (in my humble opinion).

More from KC Royals All-Time Lists

• KC Royals: Some interesting uniform number facts
• KC Royals: The Top 5 Kansas City speedsters, Part 2
• KC Royals: Top 5 Kansas City speedsters, Part 1
• KC Royals: Ranking the club’s 4 Rookies of the Year
• KC Royals: Dayton Moore’s top first round draft picks

In fact you can compare for yourself by looking at Bo Jackson’s football highlights, and comparing them to his top 10 plays with the Kansas City Royals.

But in many ways, Bo Jackson transcended both sports to become a media phenomenon. In fact, Nike built a major advertising campaign around Bo Jackson’s multi-sport skills. The famous “Bo Knows” campaign played upon Bo Jackson’s ability to pick up almost any sport.

Bo Jackson had become one of the most famous athletes in the world. Even people with little to no interest in athletics knew Bo Jackson’s name, because his commercials, billboards, and print ads appeared almost everywhere you looked.

In an era where game-day highlights had become an institution, Bo Jackson was a one-man ESPN marathon.

Next: Injury