Hall of Famer (aka Mr. October) Reggie Jackson will be making a trip to Central Texas on Wednesday, Feb. 6 to headline the 2008 Round Rock Express Winter Baseball Banquet. Jackson will be speaking at the ceremony honoring the 2008 High School All-Star Team, Collegiate Pitcher and Player of the Year, Express Pitcher and Player of the Year, Professional Player of the Year, the James Keller Award recipient, and the Jackie Moore Lifetime Achievement Award winner. That’s a lot of winners in one room. Jackson played in 2,820 regular-season games during his stellar career retiring with 563 home runs; 1,702 RBIs; and 2,584 hits. He swatted 10 homers in 27 World Series games, was a 14-time All-Star, one-time MVP, two-time World Series MVP (hence the Mr. October moniker), and four-time American League home run champ.
Younger fans may know Jackson from ESPN’s excellent The Bronx Is Burning miniseries which aired in 2007 and depicted the tumultuous relationship between Jackson and Yankees’ manager Billy Martin. The miniseries was based on Jonathan Mahler‘s book Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning. Rescue Me‘s Daniel Sunjata did an excellent job portraying Jackson and the same can be said of John Turturro‘s bristling portrayal of the troubled genius known as Billy Martin (R.I.P.). Pick it up on DVD if you missed it.
The banquet begins at 6pm with $75 tickets available through the Round Rock Express website or by calling 512/238-2210. This year’s banquet will be held in the Dell Diamond’s United Heritage Center.
He also had a candy bar.
This article appears in January 11 • 2008.