when Bo’s condition was “poor,” it was almost impossible to win with them"
You obviously never tried putting Willie Gualt at RB. He was almost just as good Bo. If your opponent jumped your play he didn't break the rackle every time but if they didn't guess the play he could score a TD on every play and his top speed was actually faster than Bo's.
$12,000 per week on the practice squad. If Allen stays on it all season, that's $200,000 plus playoff bonuses as a member of the Eagles. Would Allen have made that much in endorsements and appearance fees as a sprinter?
I think there's truth in all of these theories, but it's also true that Bo and Deion were each unique personalities - not just freak athletes, but they had distinctive personalities that made the idea of playing two sports an enticing challenge.
For what it's worth, the more I look at the two of them, I believe Sanders is the better two-sport star. God bless Bo Jackson, but I think Deion had the better dual career. Of course, Bo got hurt so it will always be speculation, but Sanders was as good as any football player ever at what he did, and he was a better baseball player than people remember. Jackson was spectacular, he was "can't miss TV," but I'd take Sanders over him. Deion was a defensive player and a special teams guy, but I believe he scored more NFL touchdowns than Bo. Just an incredible player.
I don't think I can get tired of Bo Jackson content. He's an American folk hero seemingly more comparable to Paul Bunyan or John Henry as he is to other athletes. My favorite ESPN sports doc by far is "You Don't Know Bo".
Apologies for moving away from the main point, but Deion's 1992 MLB season was indeed amazing.
14 triples and only 6 doubles, a difference of 8. Since then the biggest difference has been only five (Orlando Hudson in 2012: eight triples and three doubles).
These numbers aren't historically unique, because baseball was very different 120 years ago. Harry Davis had a good career, and in 1897 he had 28 triples and 10 doubles for Pittsburgh [or was it Pittsburg?...things were confusing then].
If the idea is not limit our imagination or allow players ability to compete across sports, why limit LeBron to being a TE? This is a player that the article correctly credits with amazing vision and loves to distribute the ball. Why not QB?
On another note, there is already a tremendous attrition rate for single sport athletes. Wouldn’t it be even worse for dual sport guys?
Finally, MJ noted in “The Last Dance” that he had to rework his body to play basketball. That was a guy with his determination. It would probably be physically and mentally draining to play two sports professionally.
But good HS players should be encouraged to do so.
“Athletes are bigger, faster and stronger than ever.” This is the fallacy of the article. For all the specialization, athletes today are not as good. Who today is even close to Bo Jackson or Deion? I can’t think of an NFL cornerback who is even close to Deion. Nor an NFL running back close to Bo in terms of size and speed. And Bo wasn’t the only one….in the same era you had Herschel Walker, Eric Dickerson, Marcus Dupree…all freaks of nature whom no one today compares to.
Or look at the great centers in basketball. Starting in the 1960s you had Russell, Chamberlain, Kareem, Walton, Moses Malone, Olajuwon, Ralph Sampson, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaq, Duncan. Today you have Jokic (who is great but doesn’t protect the rim….more like a 7-foot small forward) and maybe Embiid and….who else?
It is especially apparent in the joke that NCAA basketball has become. The following players all played in the 1983 NCAA tournament (which had far fewer teams than today’s tournament):
Michael Jordan
Sam Perkins
Brad Daugherty
Ralph Sampson
Len Bias
Hakeem Olajuwon
Clyde Drexler
Patrick Ewing
Chris Mullin
Wayman Tisdale
Sam Bowie
Alvin Robertson
Pearl Washington
Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton didn’t even make the tournament. Today you win the title with the likes of Christian Braun as your best player. Christian Braun.
How things are measured have changed. In baseball they moved the speed gun closer to the mound so now everyone throws 100 mph. In 1973, when Nolan Ryan was actually throwing 100, they would have thrown 92. In football they spend months at camps preparing for all the tests at the NFL combine, like getting the questions on an exam beforehand…Deion literally walked out of a car in sweats and ran 4.2.
Today’s athletes are not bigger, faster and stronger. They are worse.
The Dave Debusschere Wikipedia page lists 13 people who have played in both MLB and the NBA.
DeBusschere also had the distinction of being a player/coach for the Pistons for 5 years. What is even more remarkable is that he continued as a high level player after he stopped coaching- a couple of years more with the Pistons and a handful of years with the Knicks. Most player coaches/managers fill that dual role as their playing career is winding down.
If I remember correctly, Gene Conley is the only man in history with an MLB and NBA title on his resume. And one of only two (the other being Otto Graham in the NFL and NBA) to win titles in two of the four major sports.
Great great piece. I’m going with money as the #1 and would like to add that pro sports are very conservative in nature. If Shohei had been a traditional draft pick he would have been made to choose one of the two.
I think one of the oddest 2-sport athletes recently is Eddy Alvarez, who played in MLB for the Marlins and Dodgers; and medaled at the Winter Olympics in short-track speed skating. Only Alvarez and Jim Thorpe have played Major League Baseball and won an Olympic Medal in another sport.
I think Bo’s career ending injury is a big factor. Not a vicious hit or anything, but he was basically done after that. Certainly a cautionary tale.
Youth sports is in many ways a racket now. Lots of people making money off youth sports, and lots of pressure to play one sport year round. And for high skill sports like baseball, if you don’t specialize at 10 or so, it is very hard to play at the highest levels in high school.
I read that Epstein book the author mentioned. Epstein argues it is better in the long run to generalize because you develop broader skills and avoid overuse injuries. He also points out that a disproportionately higher percentage of pro athletes today come from smaller towns where they play multiple sports growing up.
Bo's injury was a freak thing, though. It didn't have anything to do with playing two sports. Just a tackle with exactly the right amount of pull and torque at exactly the wrong angle, and POOF, Bo's hip was toast.
That’s the point- in football any play can be career ending. What I am saying is that Bo lost a lot of money and the Royals lost a great player on a fairly routine tackle. I bet some teams and players view that as a cautionary tale. I would. Of course teams will still let a great talent like Bo try to play both. But for players who are less talented, I can see teams offering contracts that prohibit playing other sports.
Two interesting two-sport athletes off the top of my head: 1) Bob Gibson was a pretty good basketball player - averaged over 20 pts a game at Creighton and later played for the Harlem Globetrotters before starting his pro baseball career. 2) Adam Keefe, a college All-American basketball player and later NBA pro with Utah and others, was on the U.S. National Volleyball team and played in the NCAA final in volleyball.
Rabbit hole tangent that came to mind writing the last post. This one's for Joe. One of the better players in my sons youth baseball league was David Riske. He was a good shortstop and pitcher, a league All-Star although not THE PITCHER. He played for a travel team where he shined as a shortstop and pitched as the 4th or 5th pitcher in tournaments where you needed that many pitchers. People wondered if he was a prospect as an infielder. David kept getting better and better as a pitcher and ended up with a respectable 11 year career in MLB, making just under $20,000,000 per Baseball reference. Playing for Kansas City in 2007, Zach Greinke credits Riske with helping him overcome his problems in his return to full time baseball. If you Google "Brewers' David Riske helped Royals pitcher Zach Greinke through struggles" you'll have another reason to love baseball.
Great article, Joe! Thanks for sharing.
First of all he's a hurdler and one of the top 10 in the world. His Nike contract was for at least that plus prize money at the big events.
when Bo’s condition was “poor,” it was almost impossible to win with them"
You obviously never tried putting Willie Gualt at RB. He was almost just as good Bo. If your opponent jumped your play he didn't break the rackle every time but if they didn't guess the play he could score a TD on every play and his top speed was actually faster than Bo's.
Great story but get the facts right please. Devon Allen is a 3-time National champ in the high hurdles but he has NEVER won an international medal.
It is stunning to me that he (likely never making an NFL roster) gave up a career in the sport he was top 10 in the world.
$12,000 per week on the practice squad. If Allen stays on it all season, that's $200,000 plus playoff bonuses as a member of the Eagles. Would Allen have made that much in endorsements and appearance fees as a sprinter?
I think there's truth in all of these theories, but it's also true that Bo and Deion were each unique personalities - not just freak athletes, but they had distinctive personalities that made the idea of playing two sports an enticing challenge.
For what it's worth, the more I look at the two of them, I believe Sanders is the better two-sport star. God bless Bo Jackson, but I think Deion had the better dual career. Of course, Bo got hurt so it will always be speculation, but Sanders was as good as any football player ever at what he did, and he was a better baseball player than people remember. Jackson was spectacular, he was "can't miss TV," but I'd take Sanders over him. Deion was a defensive player and a special teams guy, but I believe he scored more NFL touchdowns than Bo. Just an incredible player.
I don't think I can get tired of Bo Jackson content. He's an American folk hero seemingly more comparable to Paul Bunyan or John Henry as he is to other athletes. My favorite ESPN sports doc by far is "You Don't Know Bo".
Apologies for moving away from the main point, but Deion's 1992 MLB season was indeed amazing.
14 triples and only 6 doubles, a difference of 8. Since then the biggest difference has been only five (Orlando Hudson in 2012: eight triples and three doubles).
These numbers aren't historically unique, because baseball was very different 120 years ago. Harry Davis had a good career, and in 1897 he had 28 triples and 10 doubles for Pittsburgh [or was it Pittsburg?...things were confusing then].
If the idea is not limit our imagination or allow players ability to compete across sports, why limit LeBron to being a TE? This is a player that the article correctly credits with amazing vision and loves to distribute the ball. Why not QB?
On another note, there is already a tremendous attrition rate for single sport athletes. Wouldn’t it be even worse for dual sport guys?
Finally, MJ noted in “The Last Dance” that he had to rework his body to play basketball. That was a guy with his determination. It would probably be physically and mentally draining to play two sports professionally.
But good HS players should be encouraged to do so.
“Athletes are bigger, faster and stronger than ever.” This is the fallacy of the article. For all the specialization, athletes today are not as good. Who today is even close to Bo Jackson or Deion? I can’t think of an NFL cornerback who is even close to Deion. Nor an NFL running back close to Bo in terms of size and speed. And Bo wasn’t the only one….in the same era you had Herschel Walker, Eric Dickerson, Marcus Dupree…all freaks of nature whom no one today compares to.
Or look at the great centers in basketball. Starting in the 1960s you had Russell, Chamberlain, Kareem, Walton, Moses Malone, Olajuwon, Ralph Sampson, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaq, Duncan. Today you have Jokic (who is great but doesn’t protect the rim….more like a 7-foot small forward) and maybe Embiid and….who else?
It is especially apparent in the joke that NCAA basketball has become. The following players all played in the 1983 NCAA tournament (which had far fewer teams than today’s tournament):
Michael Jordan
Sam Perkins
Brad Daugherty
Ralph Sampson
Len Bias
Hakeem Olajuwon
Clyde Drexler
Patrick Ewing
Chris Mullin
Wayman Tisdale
Sam Bowie
Alvin Robertson
Pearl Washington
Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton didn’t even make the tournament. Today you win the title with the likes of Christian Braun as your best player. Christian Braun.
How things are measured have changed. In baseball they moved the speed gun closer to the mound so now everyone throws 100 mph. In 1973, when Nolan Ryan was actually throwing 100, they would have thrown 92. In football they spend months at camps preparing for all the tests at the NFL combine, like getting the questions on an exam beforehand…Deion literally walked out of a car in sweats and ran 4.2.
Today’s athletes are not bigger, faster and stronger. They are worse.
The Dave Debusschere Wikipedia page lists 13 people who have played in both MLB and the NBA.
DeBusschere also had the distinction of being a player/coach for the Pistons for 5 years. What is even more remarkable is that he continued as a high level player after he stopped coaching- a couple of years more with the Pistons and a handful of years with the Knicks. Most player coaches/managers fill that dual role as their playing career is winding down.
He once pitched a shutout for the White Sox.
For kicks and grins from the past.
Gene Conley pitched for Braves and played for i believe the Celtics
Chuck Connors, yes The Rifleman(if you’re under 60 google it) played for the Dodgers and I’m not sure who in the NBA, maybe the Celtics as well
He was my neighbor in LA wore a Pacers jacket because of Chuck Person, nickname The Rifleman
If I remember correctly, Gene Conley is the only man in history with an MLB and NBA title on his resume. And one of only two (the other being Otto Graham in the NFL and NBA) to win titles in two of the four major sports.
Great great piece. I’m going with money as the #1 and would like to add that pro sports are very conservative in nature. If Shohei had been a traditional draft pick he would have been made to choose one of the two.
I think one of the oddest 2-sport athletes recently is Eddy Alvarez, who played in MLB for the Marlins and Dodgers; and medaled at the Winter Olympics in short-track speed skating. Only Alvarez and Jim Thorpe have played Major League Baseball and won an Olympic Medal in another sport.
I think Bo’s career ending injury is a big factor. Not a vicious hit or anything, but he was basically done after that. Certainly a cautionary tale.
Youth sports is in many ways a racket now. Lots of people making money off youth sports, and lots of pressure to play one sport year round. And for high skill sports like baseball, if you don’t specialize at 10 or so, it is very hard to play at the highest levels in high school.
I read that Epstein book the author mentioned. Epstein argues it is better in the long run to generalize because you develop broader skills and avoid overuse injuries. He also points out that a disproportionately higher percentage of pro athletes today come from smaller towns where they play multiple sports growing up.
Bo's injury was a freak thing, though. It didn't have anything to do with playing two sports. Just a tackle with exactly the right amount of pull and torque at exactly the wrong angle, and POOF, Bo's hip was toast.
That’s the point- in football any play can be career ending. What I am saying is that Bo lost a lot of money and the Royals lost a great player on a fairly routine tackle. I bet some teams and players view that as a cautionary tale. I would. Of course teams will still let a great talent like Bo try to play both. But for players who are less talented, I can see teams offering contracts that prohibit playing other sports.
Two interesting two-sport athletes off the top of my head: 1) Bob Gibson was a pretty good basketball player - averaged over 20 pts a game at Creighton and later played for the Harlem Globetrotters before starting his pro baseball career. 2) Adam Keefe, a college All-American basketball player and later NBA pro with Utah and others, was on the U.S. National Volleyball team and played in the NCAA final in volleyball.
Rabbit hole tangent that came to mind writing the last post. This one's for Joe. One of the better players in my sons youth baseball league was David Riske. He was a good shortstop and pitcher, a league All-Star although not THE PITCHER. He played for a travel team where he shined as a shortstop and pitched as the 4th or 5th pitcher in tournaments where you needed that many pitchers. People wondered if he was a prospect as an infielder. David kept getting better and better as a pitcher and ended up with a respectable 11 year career in MLB, making just under $20,000,000 per Baseball reference. Playing for Kansas City in 2007, Zach Greinke credits Riske with helping him overcome his problems in his return to full time baseball. If you Google "Brewers' David Riske helped Royals pitcher Zach Greinke through struggles" you'll have another reason to love baseball.