Bo Knows… KICKS: Nike Air Trainer SC

Nike Air Trainer SC

Today I get the chance to combine two of my favorite post series, Bo Knows… and KICKS. That's definitely a good thing since it's been a couple weeks since I've added to either series. And with Nike's very successful Bo Knows… ad campaign that I'm obviously playing off of for this post title, it's about time I combined the two series.

As previously mentioned, Nike's Bo Knows… ad campaign was enormously successful. Unfortunately, it was also brief due to the catastrophic hip injury Bo suffered against the Bengals in a 1991 NFL playoff game. Really, the Bengals? Come on! What's something positive the Bengals have done for sports in the past 20 years? I can't think of anything and the Jackson injury is just making me more displeased with the Bungles franchise. Anyways, back to the Nike campaign. Despite the injury and 20 years, Nike has never really given up on the iconic campaign.

2010 Nike Trainer SC

Nike has re-released the Air Trainer SC recently (pictured right). This is an updated version of the original SC. In the past, Nike was just producing the Air Trainer SC as retro's. You can see the original Air Trainer SC at the top of the post. The retro version has been released in almost ever color scheme imaginable, but I like the orange, blue and white. It's just classic.

Most of the sneakers I feature in the KICKS series I have worn personally at some point in time. Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of rockin' this cross trainers as of yet, but I'm working on it.


Yep, Bo Knows… Kicks. Checkout the Nike TV commercial from the early 90's below and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

- Need more Bo Knows… posts? (click here)
- Need more KICKS posts? (click here)
- Want free Panini Timeless Treasures cards? (click here)

Bo Knows Bowl Season

I know it's been several weeks since I've written a "Bo Knows…" post, but I just haven't been able to land any Bo Jackson memorabilia or cards lately. Luckily, Josh over at DodgerBobble sent me this great video from the 1985 college football bowl season featuring one Bo Jackson. Enjoy the footage and remember… Bo Knows Bowl Season. Happy New!

- Stay tuned for a 2010 trading card year in review I will hopefully have posted be Sunday at the latest. Thanks for reading and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball" in this new year.

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"Bo Knows…" Memorable Materials

(Bo Jackson Topps Tribute Memorable Materials Jersey Card 46/89)

In a continuation of the "Bo Knows…" Series, this 2002 Topps Tribute Memorable Materials Bo Jackson jersey card signifies the first Bo Jackson jersey/relic card that I've been able to add to my collection. I've hunted this card down for quite a long time. There certainly are a lot of great Jackson cards out on the secondary markets today, but this offering from Topps is one of the best looking cards of the former two-sport superstar. I'm not sure if it's the refractor surface, the Kansas City Royals blue uniform or the horizontal layout of the card, but I've always liked the look of this card since I first saw it several years ago.

I know the card doesn't feature a huge jersey patch or auto, but I'm still pretty excited just to add a Bo Jackson jersey card to my collection. The card is fairly rare with a print run of only 89. The print run is significant because the Topps Memorable Materials set highlights a milestone moment in MLB history. In this case, the memorable moment was Jackson winning the 1989 All-Star Game MVP Award. Jackson lead the game off with a 448 ft. home run that turned many big leaguers into spectators and also had a potential games saving catch in the outfield.

The 1989 All-Star Game was the coming out party for Jackson as a professional baseball player. Unfortunately, it would be Bo's last MLB All-Star Game. As we all know, Jackson suffered a catastrophic hip injury in a '91 NFL playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Although Bo's hip injury was more than unfortunate, it's really great to remember the highlights of his career. That's why, "Bo Knows Memorable Materials".

Happy Collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Bo Knows Social Networking

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This is the fourth post in the "Bo Knows" Series, and you're probably asking, "How could Bo Jackson know anything about social networking?". The truth is that I have no idea whether Mr. Jackson is an avid blogger, Tweeter or Facebook user, but I do know that these "Bo Knows" posts have spurred on some activity in the comments section of these posts. More specifically, Dodgerbobble mentioned that he believes Bo Jackson is the greatest all around athlete he has ever seen. First of all, checkout Dodgerbobble. It's a really great L.A. Dodgers sports memorabilia blog that features some very unique items. Secondly, I totally agree. Although I have never seen Bo Jackson compete in person, I have viewed just about every documentary and/or internet video out there featuring the exploits of Mr. Jackson. Whether it was running, jumping, throwing or hitting Brian "The Boz" back past the goal line, Bo could do it all.

So how does Bo Know social networking? It's actually pretty simple. Dodgerbobble commented on the last "Bo Knows The #1" post. Because of his comments, I scoured the internet for the best Bo Jackson video I could find that showcases all of Jackson's talents and athleticism. Finally, you're watching that video and reading this post. Hopefully you'll also leave a comment or two, and that's how "Bo Knows" Social Networking.

Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Bo Knows Bubble Gum: '94 Upper Deck SP Holoview Die Cut

About a month ago I wrote a post reviewing an old school Nike Bo Jackson poster and explaining how Jackson also played semi-pro basketball for a very brief time. The post was entitled, "Bo Knows Basketball?" (click here). I'm a huge Jackson fan, and collect as many of his cards and posters that I can get my hands on. I really enjoyed the "Bo Knows Basketball?" post, especially the YouTube highlight videos and old Nike TV commercials I was able to embed into the post. I had so much fun putting that post together that I thought it'd be cool to do a "Bo Knows…" post for every Bo Jackson item that I'm lucky enough to add to my collection.

This newest post in the "Bo Knows…" series features this 1994 Upper Deck SP Die Cut Holoview Bo Jackson card. I love the Holoview sets Upper Deck put out during the mid 90's. Regardless of sport, all of these cards looked great. Of course the '94 baseball set features some high value gems like the A-Rod RC, Michael Jordan baseball RC and equally outrageously expensive Ken Griffey Jr. You can get the base versions of these cards at a relatively reasonable price, but it's really the die cuts that get collectors excited.

The Bo Jackson doesn't carry the same price tag as many of the other cards in the set, but is equally beautiful. It shimmers from the foiling UD used on the surface of the cards, and I think most die cut parallels look better than their base counterparts. As cool as the front of the card looks, the back is even better with Bo demonstrating his mastery of blowing bubble gum bubbles.

Hope you enjoyed this installment of the "Bo Knows…" series. I'll continue the series as I get in more Bo Jackson memorabilia. If you enjoyed this post, make sure to checkout the first post in the series (click here) and remember… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

(Hopefully you can read what it says on the back of this card. Truly a testimate to the type of athlete Jackson was.)

Bo Knows Basketball?

We all know the story. Bo Jackson took the NFL by storm as a running back for the L. A. Raiders in 1987 (He was actually the number 1 overall draft choice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in ’86, but decided to play baseball and did not sign a contract with the Bucs allowing him to go back into the draft where the Raiders selected him in the 7th round of the ’87 Draft.

He also took MLB by storm in the 1989 MLB All-Star Game as he led the game off with a home run and won the MVP. You undoubtably also know that his career as a two sport star came to a tragic end via a hip injury he suffered during a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bungals, I mean Bengals (Thanks a lot Bengals, jerks!!!). What you may not know, is that Bo indeed does “Know Basketball”.

After the hip injury he suffered in the ’91 NFL Playoffs, Bo tried his hand at basketball by playing for a semi-pro team in the L.A area. This basketball experiment was of course short lived, and Bo eventually made his return to MLB with the Chicago White Sox in 1993. Jackson had a productive year hitting 16 home runs and batting in 45 RBI’s. He also won the Tony Conigliaro Award for coming back from hip replacement surgery that year. However, during the MLB strike of ’94, Jackson retired from professional sports for good. He certainly showed glimpses of greatness during his career, and one can only speculate to the level of greatness he might have achieved if he had remained healthy.

You all know I collect basketball cards, posters, books, kicks and more, but I also collect memorabilia from other sports, teams and players. Bo Jackson is one of my favorite athletes of all-time to watch old footage of as evident by all the “YouTube Videos” in this post. He was simply amazing. Without question, the best pure athlete I’ve ever seen. There’re a few items of his I’m always on the lookout for. Mainly, this 2008 UD Ultimate Legends Auto (click here), this 2008 UD Ultimate Dual Auto (click here) and of course, this Nike “The Ball Player” Poster featured in the post image, circa 1989.

“The Ball Player” Nike Bo Jackson poster is an iconic classic among sports enthusiasts and collectors alike. This was the start of the “Bo Knows” campaign that Nike marketed to sell Bo’s famous cross training kicks. Not only did those smooth and clever marketers from Nike come up with one hell of a poster, but they also created some fun TV commercials too.