‘I’m Bo Jackson’: Grandson of newest KC Royals Hall of Famer embodies his legacy

Bo Jackson was the star of the show Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

Forty minutes ahead of first pitch between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians, he rode around the warning track atop an orange Corvette as he was applauded and celebrated for his achievements in KC.

Jackson eventually made it to the grass around the pitcher’s mound to officially accept his membership in the Royals’ esteemed Hall of Fame. He was surrounded by his family, who had long awaited the day Jackson would be immortalized at Kauffman.

They, along with scores of fans gathered in his honor, made that clear.

And Jackson, 61, couldn’t have been happier.

“This is where I became a man,” he said. “This is where my professional career started … My family has welcomed me back home.”

If Jackson’s family-man status wasn’t already widely known, it became clear at a glance Saturday. Sitting next to him for the duration of his Royals Hall of Fame news conference was his 3-year-old grandson, Aidan.

Aidan had donned a blue Royals cap and the white jersey of his “Papa.” The pair were best friends — Aidan said so himself.

In fact, he even introduced himself as the older Jackson.

“I’m Bo Jackson,” Aidan declared, garnering a laugh from Jackson before correctly identifying himself.

As nervous as he was, there was something special about Aidan’s presence at the podium. He might not have quite understood the magnitude of the moment — he spent a majority of the news conference seemingly debating whether he should retrieve a foam bat with which he’d walked in. (It had since fallen to the wayside.)

But he was there. Wearing Papa’s jersey.

And that alone meant a lot to Bo Jackson.

“When I see people wearing my jersey in this day and age,” Jackson began, pointing his index finger upward, “it means one thing to me: That I did something right.”

It’s about more than just the 141 home runs that he hit or 415 runs he drove in.

“People still respect me for doing those right things when I was younger,” Jackson said. “For me, I’m just fortunate enough and thankful enough that I had a group of people around me that cared about me as a person instead of the athlete.”

The news conference continued, and Jackson kept Aidan involved.

“What do you want to watch on TV?” Jackson asked Aidan in response to a reporter’s question about how often he watches his own highlights.

“I want to watch baseball highlights,” Aidan said, shyly.

Jackson asked the 3-year-old to show how he “breaks his bat” over his helmet. Aidan’s hands went straight to his head, mimicking Jackson’s famous moment from more than 35 years ago.

“His Nana told him a couple of weeks ago, ‘I’m sick of watching Bo Jackson highlights,’” Jackson added with a chuckle. “And he chastised his grandmother. He said, ‘Nana, don’t say that about Papa! Papa is my best friend.’”

Welcomed with warm applause at Kauffman Stadium, Jackson said he enjoys speaking with current Royals players.

“It’s always great to share my experience with the guys that are coming up now,” he said. “Because these guys now, they are sprinting down that road that not only myself … but all of the old guys laid the pavement for.”

Whether Aidan ends up taking that same path one day remains to be seen. But Jackson will be a role model regardless. And through his willingness to remain present for the Royals years after his retirement from baseball, he’ll be that for many others, too.

Jackson left an indelible mark on Kansas City. Aidan is one example of it, and the scattered No. 16 jerseys in and around Kauffman Stadium on Saturday offered many others.

“(He’s) probably the first athlete in my childhood that was just legendary,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Jackson. “To be able to sit down and talk to him is very surreal. ...

“There’s only one greatest athlete of all time. I think I would side on Bo.”