Who knew?
Bo knew!
In a stroke of advertising campaign brilliance (in my opinion, at least), the folks at Nike launched the “Bo Knows” advertisements for its line of cross-training shoes in 1989 when Bo Jackson became the first modern athlete to play both Major League Baseball and NFL in the same season. Jackson played in both leagues during the 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990 seasons before he suffered a football career-ending hip injury when tackled following a 34-yard run against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 13, 1991. He eventually played three more seasons in the Majors for both the Chicago White Sox and California Angels before retiring.
The first advertisement in the campaign (seen in the video below at left) featured Jackson playing a variety of sports with other professional Nike-sponsored athletes commenting on what Bo knew (or did not) know. It ends with him playing guitar – badly – along with legendary blues guitarist, Bo Diddley, who delivers the commercial’s final line, “Bo, you don’t know Diddley!”
The second advertisement (seen in the video below at left) was all about Bo. He appeared in various gear depicting him not just as a baseball and football player, but also basketball, hockey, sprinter, surfer, tennis, jockey, cyclist, and soccer player. It’s from this phase of the campaign that the poster used for this week’s Fan Teaser originated. As you’ll see in the enlarged portion below, all of the sports that Bo knew are printed in the background of all the outfitted Bos.
It seemed a great time to use something Bo Jackson-themed for the Fan Teaser as he was part of the trivia question included near the end of Fan Teaser Week 164 Solution: Who are the only two Heisman Trophy winners to play Major League Baseball?
Jackson, of course, is one. The other was Ohio State University halfback, Vic Janowicz, who won the 1950 Heisman before playing two seasons as a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953-54) before embarking on a 2-year NFL career with the Washington Redskins (1954-55).
Just one Fan Teaser reader responded with the correct answer, Jerry Hill (aka my father), so now I need to figure out what his prize is going to be.
Maybe Bo knows what it should be;-)
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.