KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Entering atop a Corvette and taking a slow lap around the stadium where the legend he first fashioned at Auburn further grew, Bo Jackson received a standing ovation Saturday from Kansas City Royals fans, many wearing No. 16 jerseys.
“When I see people wearing my jersey in this day and age it means one thing to me,” Jackson said. “That I did something right, and people still respect me for doing those right things when I was younger.”
In a pregame ceremony at Kauffman Stadium, National Baseball Hall of Famer member George Brett officially welcomed his former teammate into Royals’ royalty.
“I never saw anyone quite like Bo, and I doubt I ever will again,” said Brett, minutes before catching Jackson’s ceremonial first pitch. “He is the greatest athlete I have ever seen. He is, and remains, a cultural icon, and today it is my honor and privilege to welcome my friend Bo Jackson into the Royals Hall of Fame.”
Kansas City drafted Jackson in the fourth round in 1986, six months after he won the 1985 Heisman Trophy, concluding his Auburn football career as the program’s all-time leading rusher, a record Bo still holds four decades later.
To the astonishment of many, Jackson spurned the NFL’s Tampa Bay Bucs, which had drafted him No. 1 overall six weeks earlier, and signed instead with the Royals, debuting in the majors on Sept. 2, 1986, after only 53 minor league games.
“The first day I walked in the clubhouse, from having confidence within myself – this isn’t from an arrogant standpoint; this is from the fight within me – I knew somebody was going to lose their job,” Jackson said. “I’m always striving to be the best even though a lot of times I wasn’t. I’m not going to let the guy on the other side of the field outdo me.”