He joined the Raiders after the season ended but posted the worst statistics of his career—averaging only 4.3 yards per carry and scoring just three touchdowns. The Raiders finished 7-9 and missed the postseason for the second straight year.
1989 was the greatest season of Bo's baseball career. Although he led the American League in strikeouts, he smacked 32 home runs, drove in 105 runs, and stole 26 bases.
His combination of power and speed ranked first in the American League. He finished 10th in the MVP voting and was selected to his first All-Star Game as the starting left fielder.
In the All-Star Game, Jackson smacked a 448-foot home run off starting pitcher Rick Reuschel in his first All-Star at-bat. He also beat out an infield single for the game-winning RBI, and he stole a base—joining Willie Mays as the only player in All-Star Game history to hit a home run and steal a base in the same game.
On June 5, 1989, Jackson made one of the most memorable fielding plays of his career— throwing out the speedy Harold Reynolds at the plate on a line drive off the left field wall. This play is probably the trademark play of Bo Jackson's baseball career.
With the Royals again missing the postseason, Bo joined the Raiders in October of 1989. For the first time in his career, he was listed as a running back and not a fullback.
Five-time Pro Bowl running back Marcus Allen missed the majority of the season with a knee injury—meaning Bo would be the go-to-guy at running back for the first (and only) time in his NFL career.
He played in 11 games and started nine of them—carrying the ball 173 times for 950 yards and four touchdowns. He set a career-high in carries and yards and his 5.5 yards per carry ranked third in the National Football League. He also became the first player in NFL history to rush for a 90-yard touchdown twice in a career.
The Raiders failed to make the postseason for the third straight season, just like the Royals. Little did Bo know that he would have only one more year left as a multi-sport athlete.
Bo performed his biggest baseball highlight reel play in June of 1990, when he caught a ball several feet from the fence and literally ran up the outfield wall in a successful attempt to avoid injury upon impact of the fence. This play has been shown on numerous baseball highlight reels over the past two decades.
In 1990, Bo helped the Raiders win 12 games—enough to win the AFC West title. Bo was selected to the Pro Bowl after rushing for 698 yards and five touchdowns on 125 carries (5.6 yards per carry).
Jackson ran for an 88-yard touchdown during the regular season, the third time in his four years that he posted the longest rush in the NFL during the regular season.
The Raiders won their first playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, in which Bo Jackson suffered the most serious injury of his professional career. After being tackled by linebacker Kevin Walker, Jackson lay on the ground in extreme pain. Bo reportedly popped his hip back into his socket while waiting for the trainer to come out onto the field.
Jackson's football career ended on January 13, 1991. The Raiders would go on to lose the AFC championship game to the Buffalo Bills, 51-3.
Jackson's hip did not respond well to treatment, and the Kansas City Royals were forced to release the 29-year-old left fielder.
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