Legendary two-sport athlete Bo Jackson will undergo a procedure later this week to stop the chronic hiccups he’s been experiencing since July of 2022.
Appearing on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on WJOX-FM in Birmingham, Alabama, Jackson disclosed a medical issue that he’s been dealing with, while explaining his absence from a Frank Thomas statue dedication held in April as part of Auburn’s A-Day.
“I wasn’t [at the ceremony] because of dealing with hiccups,” Jackson said. “I’ve had the hiccups since last July. I’m getting a medical procedure done the end of this week, I think, to try to remedy it. I’ve been busy sitting at the doctor’s poking me, shining lights down my throat, probing me every way they can to find out why I’ve got these hiccups. That’s the only reason I wasn’t there.”
The 60 year-old Jackson said doctors have been unable to diagnose a clear cause for the condition, adding that traditional remedies to end the hiccups have failed.
“I have done everything, scare me, hang upside down, drink water, smell the ass of a porcupine,” Jackson added. “It doesn’t work.”
Jackson starred as a running back at Auburn from 1982-1985, rushing for 4,303 yards and 43 touchdowns in 45 games across four seasons.
He won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football in 1985 and was twice named a consensus All-American.
Jackson also played for Auburn’s baseball team as an outfielder from 1983-1986. He missed the 1984 season with an injury.
In 89 games across three seasons, he slashed .335/.466/.729 with 28 home runs, 70 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Jackson first overall in the 1986 NFL draft, but he never played for the franchise.
The Kansas City Royals selected Jackson in the 1986 MLB draft, and he spent five seasons with the franchise from 1986-1990.
Jackson also played for the Chicago White Sox in 1991 and 1992 and the then-California Angels in 1994.
Jackson began his football career in 1987 when the then-Los Angeles Raiders selected him in the seventh round of the NFL draft.
In 38 games across four seasons from 1987-1990, he rushed for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns. He finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 1987 and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1990.
In 694 MLB games across eight seasons, Jackson hit .250 with 141 home runs, 415 RBI and 82 stolen bases. He was named to the All-Star Game in 1989 and won the game’s MVP award.
Jackson suffered a hip injury in 1991 that ended his NFL career and impacted his MLB career. He was never the same player, after the hip dislocation.
Raiders RB Bo Jackson. Photo courtsey of The New York Post
