Can Bo Jackson Do It? Flores Would Like to Think So

Tom Flores was in his office Tuesday, talking about how a football coach’s work is never done. Even during what ostensibly passes for a vacation period, he was saying, there are a number of details to attend to, camps to organize, drafts to prepare for, contract and injury developments to monitor, and talents to evaluate.

“And then, you never know when something crazy might happen unexpectedly,” the coach of the Raiders said. “Like a baseball player deciding he might also like to play football.”

Sometimes, something crazy can be good. Sometimes, something crazy can be bad.

This something crazy was good.

Until a couple of weeks ago, Flores had never given much thought to having Bo Jackson in motion in his backfield. “We never even talked to him after we drafted him,” Flores said. “We felt he was committed. We felt he wanted to be a baseball player. It was just a shot in the dark.”

Now, unless they make the playoffs, the Kansas City Royals will conclude the baseball season Oct. 4, in their home park. Bo Jackson, phantasmagorically, could catch the final fly, slip out through a side door in his uniform, like Joe Hardy in “Damn Yankees,” flag a taxi, change into civilian clothes in the cab, dash to the airport, catch a westbound flight and get fitted for a black and silver football uniform as quickly as possible.

The next Monday night, Oct. 12, the Raiders have a National Football League date at Denver. Continuing the fantasy, Bo Jackson runs for a couple of touchdowns, reading diagrams that are scribbled on his sleeves. The Raiders win big, and, immediately after the game, Bronco quarterback John Elway announces that he has changed his mind about playing shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Damn Broncos.

Flores, himself, played both football and baseball in college. He was a quarterback who broke most of Eddie LeBaron’s passing records at College of the Pacific, and in the spring he played shortstop and third base. Spring football didn’t interfere with baseball in those days. Flores even played basketball as well.

“Basketball was my favorite sport, but I never got good enough or tall enough,” he said. “I was a 6-1 1/2 center.”

There and then, guys did everything they could. They played ball day in and day out--baseball, football, basketball, softball, everyball--and hardly anybody specialized. But nowadays, it isn’t feasible, particularly on a professional level, where it is tough enough to survive one sport at a time.

“Just to stay on top of the game, today’s athletes are in training all year long,” Flores said. “Most of them never stop working out or playing. Look at how many baseball players still play winter ball. You have to be a unique individual to even consider doing two things at once.

“Napoleon McCallum was able to do it for us last season, combining his Naval duties with his football career. But two different sports in the same year, well, it takes a special kind of athlete just to consider such a thing.”

So, what of Bo? Can he be a modern Minotaur--half Royal, half Raider?

Can we actually expect a man to show up nearly three months after rookie camp commences, slip into a helmet and drive his skull right into a defensive player’s crossbones?

“I think it can be done,” Flores said. “Bo is such a unique physical player. Athletically, he just has so much talent. I don’t know how long he could do it, how many years of it he could endure. There’s so much emphasis not only on the physical side of our sport, but on the emotional strains. I don’t know how long one man could put up with double doses of all that.

“A guy like Bo, though, who has been able to play both sports very well, he might be capable of extraordinary things. This is someone who has met all of the challenges he has faced so far. Obviously, he just has that feeling that he should see how else he can challenge himself. He needs to see if he can conquer another mountain.”

George Leigh Mallory was the mountaineer who, in 1923, when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, replied: “Because it is there.” Of challenges, the late Bobby Kennedy once said that when he was asked “Why?” his traditional response was: “Why not?” There is no way Bo Jackson, or anybody else, will know if this thing can be done until he actually tries to do it.

If nothing else, it might start some other athletes wondering what feats they might be capable of? Flores pointed out that wide receiver Rod Barksdale of the Raiders never even played high school or college football. It never hurts to explore the possibilities.

“Take a guy like Marcus Allen,” Flores said. “He has great eyes and great timing. He could probably hit a baseball pretty well.”

Hmmm.

“Don’t give him any ideas, though,” Bo Jackson’s new football coach said.