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Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson (born May 18, 1946), nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder who played for five different teams from 1967 to 1987. more...

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He won 3 consecutive World Series titles as a member of the Oakland A's in the early 1970s and also won 2 consecutive titles with the New York Yankees. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993. He was recently featured in The Bronx Is Burning, portrayed by Daniel Sunjata.

Youth and early career

Reggie Jackson was born in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia. His grandfather was an Afro-American and his grandmother Afro-Caribbean born in St. Croix. His father Martinez Clarence Jackson played in the Negro League in the '30, he was also an Afro-American as well as Reggie's mother Clara. In his family "Martinez" is used as a name and not as a last name. Reggie later made his home in Oakland, California. Reggie's second name was "Martinez. He graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1964 where he starred in football and baseball and was a classmate of Yonatan Netanyahu. Jackson attended Arizona State University on a football scholarship. There, he met Jannie Campos, his first wife, a Mexican-American. He switched to baseball following his freshman year, impressing coach Bobby Winkles with his strength.

After a superb sophomore season playing for Winkles, Jackson was offered a minor league contract by the Kansas City Athletics and owner Charlie Finley. He progressed through the minors quickly, playing one season for the A's Class A team in Modesto, California, and one more season for their Class AA affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama. It was in Birmingham that Jackson got his first taste of racism, as he was the only Latino-American player on the team. He credits John McNamara, the team's manager at the time, for helping him through that difficult season.

Jackson debuted in the major leagues with the A's on June 9, 1967, a 6-0 A's victory over the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland. Following that season, the Athletics moved to Oakland. Jackson hit 47 home runs in 1969, and was briefly ahead of the pace that Roger Maris set when he broke the single-season record for home runs with 61 in 1961, and that of Babe Ruth when he set the previous record of 60 in 1927. Jackson later said that the sportswriters were claiming he was "dating a lady named 'Ruth Maris.'" That off-season, Jackson sought an increase in salary, and A's owner Charlie Finley threatened to send Jackson to the minors. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn successfully intervened in their dispute, but Jackson's numbers in 1970 dropped sharply, as he hit just 23 home runs while batting .237.

Jackson hit a memorable home run in the 1971 All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Batting for the American League against Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, the ball he hit soared above the right-field stands, striking the transformer of a light standard on the right field roof. In 1984, he would hit a home run over that roof.

Read more at Wikipedia.org