The GIF became popular on the internet in the 1990s. Unfortunately, that was after the most GIF-able athlete of all time had already retired from the NFL and MLB.
Bo Jackson did amazing things whenever his feet touched turf. He may be the greatest athlete of our time for his ability to dominate both professional football and baseball — and for his ability to make it look so easy. Jackson could leap over his opponents into the end zone, he could stop on a dime and juke his opponents out of their shoes, he could hit 500-foot home runs and he could throw from the deepest part of the outfield to gun down a runner at home plate. Basically, there was nothing Bo couldn’t do.
The former Raider and Royal was the perfect athlete for the animated GIF. Even in five second spurts, Jackson could make you say “Wow” like no other athlete since.
Sadly, Jackson’s athletic career ended far too early when he dislocated his hip against the Bengals. He had hip replacement surgery and was forced to retire from the NFL four years before he retired from pro sports altogether in 1994. Fortunately, footage of the amazing athlete is still around.
