Did Bo Jackson really run a 4.12 40-yard dash? Revisiting NFL great's historic feat

Bo Jackson is known as one of the best athletes of his generation. The two-sport star excelled in both MLB and NFL, but it was the latter where his legend grew. Numerous online sources stated that the former Auburn Tigers star ran a 4.12 40-yard dash in New Orleans at the 1986 NFL Scouting Combine. However, there's one small problem with that: it never took place at the combine.

Sportswriter Bob Gretz of The Sporting News wrote in a February 10, 1986 piece that the running back turned down an invitation to attend the combine.

"This year, approximately 320 players were scheduled to attend, with various last-minute cancelations and additions. Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson — who's also coveted by pro baseball scouts — declined the invitation. That prompted one NFL scout to crack that they would 'have to cancel the home run-hitting drill.'"

The question now is when and where did this 4.12 40-yard dash truly take place and did it happen? Bo Jackson himself answered that very question, explaining how the run came about because, obviously, he would know.

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Bo Jackson on the infamous 40-yard dash time

Jackson remembered that it was an electronically-timed 4.13 during what would or could be seen as a local combine or expanded pro day that Auburn hosted. Per the legendary NFL star, many prospects from several colleges were in attendance.

He said that it happened in the indoor bubble at Auburn. There was electronic tape at the starting line that started the clock, and there was a laser at the end line of the 40-yard dash.

"The coaches asked me, they said, 'Bo, we have a bunch of pro scouts here, and it's 40-yard dash time, they're having a little combine, why don't you come in and run a 40 for them, because they really came here in hopes to get you to run a 40 for them.

"'I'm on my way to track practice, I'll be running for the next two hours.' 'Just come in and appease these people, just come in and run 40 for them.'"

Bo Jackson also confirmed that he wasn't in attendance at the 1986 NFL Scouting Combine. He explained that there was no need for him to be there from the very beginning.

"I did not go because I was already picked to be the first person to go in the draft. If you're going to be the first person to go in the draft, why should you go to a combine and do all of that? It wasn't built up like it is now. Now it's a TV production. It's a whole show."

In the 1986 NFL Draft, the Heisman Trophy winner was drafted number one overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yet, he rejected their reported five-year, $5 million contract. After turning down the deal, his name went back in for the 1987 draft.

The Los Angeles Raiders picked him in the seventh round of the following year's draft. He would go on to play four seasons for the Raiders, rushing for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns for the team.

Bo Jackson would finish second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in the 1987 season, rushing for 554 yards and four touchdowns. Needless to say, he proved he was the real deal and that his 40-time was no joke.

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