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11:14:00 AM EDT
Hearing .38 Special
My Favorite Cards: 1990ish Foot Locker Bo Jackson
From the age of 9, when I opened my first pack of '86 Topps football (green borders), to 15, when I realized girls weren't turning handsprings over an '82 Topps Cal Ripken Jr., what I had on the brain was card collecting: baseball, football and basketball (in that order). I'd ride my Huffy for miles to local card shops A.J.'s and Bargain Den, which I now realize are just about the most depressing places in my hometown. My entire collection is still well-organized and tucked away in my parents' basement, where time pauses and rewinds to when Topps, Donruss and Fleer ruled the world. These are a few of my favorite cards.
I have no clue how I got my greasy little mitts on this one, but I do know it's been encased in hard plastic and protected from daylight since the early '90s. Obviously, this piece of cardboard rules, and here are five reasons it remains near and dear to my still beating heart:
1. Bo is a golden god. Screw Deion, Bo was the two-sport star. An All-Star in baseball and a Pro Bowler in football, he played both sports in spectacular fashion, running up an outfield wall after a warning-track catch and through a stadium tunnel after a 90-yard run. I was completely enamored with his book, commercials and legendary Tecmo Bowl skills.2. Turns out these Foot Locker dunk contests were insane. I'd never seen one until Bill Simmons uncovered footage featuring Deion, Junior Griffey and Michael Conley, whose free-throw line slam at the end is absolutely unbelievable.
3. Foot Locker owned. It was around the time I procured this card that my best friend Paul worked at a Foot Locker in the mall, where he got to wear the referee jersey and everything. One of his co-workers was old enough to drive and had a vanity plate that said "DADY MAC" or "MAC DADY," I can't remember. Kris Kross be damned, this man had my utmost respect.
4. The snug-fit jersey. There just weren't enough 225-pound, 6'1" ballers around to make jerseys thick enough for Bo. It looks like that thing was cutting off circulation to his arms, which only accentuates the gun show.
5. 'Bo Knows Basketball Too.' Unfortunately I can't find footage from this competition, but if you watch the Bo Diddley commercial, you'll see him throw one down. (Warning: it's not spectacular.) Bonus points for cameos by Michael Jordan, Kirk Gibson, Wayne Gretzky, John McEnroe and some dudes on Muscle Beach.
While we're on the subject, check out Joe Sports Fan's baseball card-based piece, Tom Henke's Army. It's hilarious and will be featured on tonight's Blog Show.
PS: It appears as if someone has gotten into Bo's Wikipedia page ...
"Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962 in McDonalds Parking Lot) is a former multi-sport professional athlete playing mud wreastling and football in the National Mudball League and baseketball in the Gay League and is the first athlete named an All-Star in both sports."
Previously on My Favorite Cards:
1979-1980 Topps Julius Erving
1987 Donruss Greg Maddux
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4/21/07 12:17 AM
God be damned injuries.
May people never forget the memory of Bo Jackson, a player who could have been(if not for injury that was not brought on by any fault of his, that we know of), the greatest athlete who ever played professional sports.
And God bless my '88 Upper Deck Gregg Jeffries card, which is the only thing remaining from a card collection utterly obliterated by my younger brother when I went off to college. He is lucky my God is a forgiving god.