That Anecdote With Bo Jackson And Nolan Ryan

If you’re a football fan, these are the dog days of summer, months from the start of the season. If you’re a baseball fan, you’re nearing the dog days of summer, the mid-season grind of a 162-game slate.

Which brings us to a football-baseball anecdote that only one Heisman winner can truly give us. Bo Jackson. Other Heisman winners played baseball. Some were pretty good. None were like Jackson.

Jackson was a big-time hitter.

Not many offensive players deserve that connotation. But some do, Bo among them. Ask Oklahoma Sooner linebacker great Brian Bosworth, who was posterized by Jackson before that became a word in 1987.

Jackson, playing for the Los Angeles Raiders, steamrolled the Seattle Seahawks’ fellow rookie en route to the end zone the same night of his equally memorable 91-yard touchdown run at the Kingdome.

The 1985 Heisman winner from Auburn celebrated his 25th birthday that Nov. 30 night, finishing with a career-high 221 rushing yards on just 18 carries, arguably the greatest game of his short-lived NFL career.

The Boz’s career, like Jackson’s, was cut short due to injuries. Whereas Bosworth pivoted to stunt work and acting in Hollywood, Jackson fell back on his second job, Major League Baseball player.

And that’s where he really became a hitter. Another legendary name can attest to that, one Nolan Ryan.

The Texas Rangers are honoring Ryan tonight (May 29) in their game against the Kansas City Royals with a special giveaway. It’s a replica throwback jersey, specifically, designed with red stains to match the then-43-old future Hall of Famer’s jersey after his face was bloodied by a sharp second-inning come-backer on Sept. 8, 1990.

The hitter in question on the play? Kansas City’s 27-year-old star Bo Jackson of course.

Ryan, to his credit, not only fielded the ball off his face and threw out Jackson at first, but he finished the inning despite blood dripping down his chin and onto his jersey. He then proceeded to throw another five innings in an eventual 2-1 win — certainly worthy of a souvenir shirt.

Jackson, the only athlete selected as an all-star in both the Major Leagues and the NFL, played eight seasons in the bigs, slugging 141 career home runs with 86 doubles among 598 career hits before injuries suffered on the football field caught up with him.

Four of those near-600 career hits came across Ryan. Jackson faced Ryan in 22 plate appearances, striking out 12 times, including in the first six at-bats.

But Jackson did get four knocks off him, including two home runs and a double with eight RBI. Well, five knocks, if you count the one off Ryan’s lip. But Ryan got the last laugh.