With his father imprisoned, Jackson found important new mentors at Arizona State. Jackson said Kush taught him toughness in relentless, physically demanding drills for the football team. An excellent football player, he could run the yard dash in sprinter speed, 6.
Jackson found baseball more by accident than by intent. He had asked permission to play baseball as part of his scholarship agreement, but had to maintain a B average to do so. In the spring of his freshman year, he arranged a tryout.
He displayed the tape-measure power he had even as a young man and was asked to join the freshman team. His skills were still rough and coach Bobby Winkles suggested that he play baseball in the summer with a Baltimore amateur team to sharpen them.
It was an all-white team run by a Baltimore Orioles scout, Walter Youse. Neither Youse nor anyone else on the team understood Reggie to be black until he showed up for the tryout.
What followed was the first of many protracted negotiations between Jackson and Athletics owner Charles O. Jackson began at Lewiston Idaho of the low Class A Northwest League, but was quickly moved to Modesto of the high-A California League, where he met many of players with whom he would share some of the greatest moments of his early years in the majors.
The next season the foursome continued as the backbone of Birmingham in the Southern League. In his first exposure to the majors, Jackson hit only. The demotion was difficult for him emotionally, but Birmingham manager John McNamara provided important support. McNamara managed Jackson again in Oakland and Anaheim, and Jackson said his help was essential for a year-old trying to grow up and handle both success and failure in a Deep South environment.
Jackson started the season with Oakland, where Finley had relocated the Athletics. At the end of April he was hitting. He cooled off and saw his average drop to. Then in June Jackson found his power stroke again. He ended the season with 29 home runs and batted. His ability to hit the long ball established him as a permanent feature in a lineup anchored by Sal Bando , also from Arizona State, Joe Rudi, and Bert Campaneris , the dynamic basestealer who hit at the top of the lineup.
Rick Monday was in center field, but it was Bando, Jackson, Campaneris, and Rudi who became the backbone of the Oakland Athletics teams that dominated the American League in the s. They were on a slow ascent and the next year Jackson was at the center of it all. He became a national celebrity during the season as he put up home run numbers that compared to those of Roger Maris and Babe Ruth.
Managing only a single home run in September, he ended the season with 47 home runs, third behind Killebrew with 49 and Howard Jackson led the league in slugging, at. He hit. He and his wife, Jennie, whom he had met at Arizona State and married in , divorced. Very little went right during the year and Reggie decided to play winter ball in Puerto Rico in hopes of finding his swing.
At Santurce he played for future Hall of Famer and inveterate tough guy Frank Robinson , who was a positive influence and helped Jackson put his life back on track. In the Athletics began to establish their dominance in the American League. They won games and won the West Division. Sal Bando most often was the dominant force in the clubhouse and just as important in the lineup.
According to Reggie that decorum led to execution on the field. No whining, no excuses, just get the job done. The season saw the emergence of Vida Blue , 1. Catfish Hunter won 21 games and had an ERA of 2. From that near-miss, the Athletics and Jackson began a historic run, winning three straight World Series, No franchise other than the New York Yankees has achieved a similar level of dominance.
In Jackson set a goal of winning the MVP, but failed, hitting only. First baseman Epstein led the team with 26 home runs and Joe Rudi. Jackson was not a deciding factor in any of the games, but played well.
In the fifth and final game, Oakland manager Dick Williams called for a double steal with Jackson on third base, Epstein on first, and one out. On the pitch Gene Tenace swung and missed for the second out, and Bill Freehan fired for second base. As soon as the ball went past the pitcher, Jackson bolted from third.
Epstein beat the throw and second baseman Tony Taylor threw back to home. Jackson felt his hamstring give 20 feet from home. His determination gave Oakland its first American League championship, but he had to be carried from the field with a torn hamstring. Though Jackson missed the World Series, he was still in the spotlight and he wanted more. In he would grab it in earnest. Nicknames: Mr. Twitter: mroctober.
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