Bo Jackson elected to Royals Hall of Fame

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- One of the greatest athletes to ever play in Kansas City will now be immortalized in the Royals Hall of Fame.

Bo Jackson has been elected to the Royals Hall of Fame by the Royals Hall of Fame Veterans Committee, the team announced Wednesday. He’ll be inducted in an on-field ceremony on June 29 at Kauffman Stadium.

“I was floored when I heard about it,” Jackson said. “The thing with me is that when I think about back when I played with Kansas City, it’s not about the things that I did, per se, on the field. It’s the camaraderie. It’s the friendships and relationships I made for that time that I was there. I still have close friendships and ties with most of the guys.”

The veterans committee considers the candidacy of non-field personnel and players and managers no longer eligible for election in the regular phase of voting. The committee consists of 16 voting members selected by the board, composed of Royals Hall of Fame members, Royals executives and media members.

Candidates must be named on at least 75% of all ballots cast to be elected.

"I’m so happy for my friend Bobo to get that call,” Hall of Famer George Brett said in a statement. “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.”

The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn, Jackson shocked the sports world by signing with the Royals in ‘86 when he had been selected in the fourth round of the MLB Draft. Scout Ken Gonzales described Jackson as the “greatest pure athlete in America today,” and it was the late great scout and then Royals scouting director Art Stewart who took a chance on Jackson playing baseball and becoming the two-sport star we know him as today.

“Art was the first person that I thought about,” Jackson said. “He took a chance on me. When everybody else was saying, ‘No, he’s not going to do this,’ Art took a chance on me. To this day, I honor that man.”

Jackson made his Major League debut on Sept. 2, 1986, and recorded his first career hit. Twelve days later, he hit his first homer, a 475-foot shot that was the longest ever hit at Royals Stadium at the time.

That was the beginning of a sensation -- and a cultural phenomenon. Jackson scaled walls and launched throws, he turned in highlight reel plays and he became a legend in Kansas City and the sports world.

At the 1989 All-Star Game, Jackson hit a leadoff home run en route to an MVP performance. He led the Royals with a career-best 32 home runs and 105 RBIs during that ‘89 season and again led the club with 28 homers in ‘90.

Among the highlights of Jackson’s baseball career includes the time he threw out Seattle’s Harold Reynolds at home with a cannon of a throw in 1986 at the Kingdome. Two years later, Jackson robbed Jack Clark of a home run at Yankee Stadium. That was one of many times he scaled the outfield walls in pursuit of an out.

Yet when Jackson looks back on his time in Kansas City, his highlights aren’t what comes to mind. Instead, he talks about his teammates -- and now, his fellow Royals Hall of Famers.

“I was in awe of everybody that I played with,” Jackson said. “I was in awe of Frank White because he was a magician with his glove. [Bret] Saberhagen would talk trash at you and then back it up by blowing a fastball by you. Dan Quisenberry with his release, under-slot, that looked painful as all get-out. Willie Wilson, the prettiest runner in baseball when he’s rounding second base. George Brett, prettiest swing in baseball from the left side.

“Those types of things are what I think about when I think about my days with the Royals.”

Jackson suffered a hip injury playing for the Los Angeles Raiders in an NFL playoff game in ‘91, which soon ended his Royals career. He ended up with a .250/.308/.480 slash line and 109 home runs in 511 games over his Kansas City tenure. He played baseball for three more seasons with the White Sox and Angels.

He had a shorter career, but he is still to this day one of the greatest athletes of all time and one of the most well-known.

Now, Bo Knows: The Royals Hall of Fame.