Bo Knows. Period.
That was the theme in the late 80's/early 90's advertising campaign by Nike that everyone was familiar with about multi-game athlete, Bo Jackson.
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a retired pro baseball and pro football player. He is one of the few athletes to be named an All-Star in two major sports, and the only one to do so in both baseball and football, making him widely considered one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Jackson is also a Heisman Trophy winner and a businessman. He created the Bo Jackson Football program, which is designed to train and educate football players of all ages and skill levels. He also has the Give Me A Chance Foundation, a 501(c)3 corporation, to inspire disadvantaged minority youth to become involved in the sport of baseball by providing opportunity to train at an elite level while emphasizing a strong commitment to education. He is also advisory director in a group of investors who own The Burr Ridge Bank and Trust.
In 1989 and 1990, Jackson's name became known beyond just sports fans through the "Bo Knows" advertising campaign, a series of advertisements by Nike, starring Jackson alongside Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Bo Diddley, promoting a cross-training athletic shoe named for Jackson.
After a 1991 hip injury on the field ended his football career, Jackson focused on baseball, and expanded into other pursuits, including the completion of his Bachelor of Science degree in Family and Child Development at Auburn
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As he looks back on career, Jackson's hindsight is clear on what she believes she should and should not have done to keep himself healthy.
"I struggled with it, and I played baseball through high school and college. Deion Sanders was the same way. We were two of the fortunate ones to get to the majors and stay there."
"As you get older, you have to taper that down to what your heart is set on doing," explains Jackson to Sports Illustrated. "The reason I did two sports was to stay out of trouble. I think a kid trying to split his time between two sports means one thing: He is going to spend all his time on the bench. The talent pool is so deep that is hard to crack that No. 1 spot just playing a single sport, yet alone two. Not trying to brag, but I came through the system at the right time. I did it constantly from junior high to high school to college to pros. That’s all I knew. I never had that gap."
"Now, football has changed in the past 25 years. It seems like the running back position is slowly fading away because everyone wants this run-and-gun type offense, which is good for some people. From my day, people wanted to see—there’s more action when handing the ball off to a running back, whether it’s Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen, LaDainian Tomlinson. That’s what gets the fans on their feet. I’m not saying anything negative about today’s players, but back in my day, people came to the stadiums to see running backs."
"I am one of the fortunate ones. I don’t think anyone who has ever strapped on the helmet and shoulder pads hasn’t had their bell rung. I had my bell rung once. It’s not anything to play with, now I know that. I went and watched the movie [Concussion] and there were people I knew, that I was friends with, that were gone that I didn’t even know they were gone. If I had young kids, to be honest, and if they came and said, Dad, I want to play football, I’d smack them in the mouth. No. No. Because if I’d have known back then what I know now, to be honest with you, I probably would have taken a different path. I probably just would have played baseball."
"Someone came from behind me and hit me right behind the ear. It was like someone short-circuited me. The ball came out and I fell on the ball, so I got it back. Something in my brain was telling me to get up, and don’t let these guys see that you are hurt. I got up and walked to the sideline. I got through the crowd and went to sit on the bench, and right when my butt hit the bench, someone grabbed my arm and said, You’re on the wrong side, motherf---er. So yes, I got my bell rung and it’s true. When you get your bell rung, you don’t hear nothing but a [bing]. You got 80,000 people screaming, but all you hear is [beeeeeeeeep]."
