 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The late Dick Schaap lived an amazing life. He knew Bo as well as anyone. In all his travels, Bo was one of those athletes that he could never get out of his head. Just months before Mr. Schaap passed away in 2001, he had written glowingly about Bo, closing with the line, “He was a beautiful athlete.”
And most people would assume that reference was about the multi-talented Bo Jackson, the subject of Schaap’s 1990 bestseller, Bo Knows Bo.
But instead, he was remembering a college aquaintance from his days at Cornell University. The Bo that nobody knew. The multi-dimensional Bo Roberson, the only person ever to earn an Ivy League degree, an Olympic medal and a doctorate while having an NFL career as well.
“My dad always contended that Bo Jackson was the greatest athlete he ever saw,” said ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap. “But he was convinced that Bo Roberson was the best natural athlete ever in the Ivy League. He could do anything.”
For those who knew the young Roberson, there must have been both reverence and intimidation. Imagine knowing a guy who was a world-class athlete and who was smarter than most. He also made impressions in other ways.
“He was a very eloquent speaker,” said former teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Otto, “and one of the very first dapper dressers in our sport.”
How big a star would he have been in today’s image-driven society? He was the original Bo, yet his legend is limited to those who saw him first hand and lives only in fading memories.
His years in the spotlight took place a long time ago. He may even be forgotten in places like Philadelphia and John Bartram High School; in Ithaca, N.Y., and Cornell University; and in the old AFL cities like San Diego, Oakland, Buffalo and Miami.
That is why we share his story.
This fall will mark the 50th annversary of Roberson venturing to Cornell and the Ivy League and in all the years since, there have been fewer than a handful of Ivy Leaguers -- if any at all -- who could be considered his athletic equal.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
|
