Post by sportsjock on Feb 6, 2021 9:49:07 GMT -5
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Perhaps the greatest athlete in the history of Fostoria, Ohio, sports has passed. Grant Jackson, World Series winner, was 78 years old.
Picture this. During Grant’s senior year at Fostoria High School, he was an All-American running back, a star performer with Tim Carman on the basketball team, qualified for three events at the Ohio Track and Field Championships (long jump, high jump, and shot put), but stood tallest on the baseball diamond. The southpaw signed a bonus contract (all of $4,000) with the Philadelphia Phillies who loved his freakish fast ball.
Grant pitched in the major leagues from 1965-1982, striking out hundreds of batters, fast ball after fast ball. In all, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, and Kansas City Royals.
Perhaps Grant’s finest season was 1973 when he went 8-0, with a 1.90 earned run average (ERA) in 80.1 innings & 45 appearances with 47 strikeouts for the Orioles.
But, his finest hour may have been in the 1979 World Series when he got the win in Game 7 for the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates of Willie Stargell against the Orioles. He appeared in two other World Series, 1971 (an Orioles loss to Pittsburgh) and 1976 (a Yankees loss to Cincinnati).
An All-Star in 1969, Grant went 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA in helping the Yankees reach the postseason in 1976.
In 1981, Grant was the recipient of the Fireman Award, given to the National League's best reliever.
The three things I remember most about Grant: he came from the greatest sports family I have ever known (Brothers Bernard, Chuckie, Carlos, and Cecil were all amazing athletes, too. Carlos, star running back for the Bowling Green Falcons and 440 hurdles champion, was the finest coach I ever had, and Cecil was my classmate who, along with Jim Hauser (starting tailback University of Toledo and legendary track & field coach at Sandusky Perkins), led FHS to league championships in football, basketball, and track our senior year.); I rode with and spent the day with Grant, Carlos, and Tom Fant at the Ohio State Track and Field Championships in 1961 where he participated in three different events; and, we spent quality time together for several years when Grant came to Indianapolis as the Pitching Coach for the Reds’ AAA farm team, the Indianapolis Indians.
Grant was Fostoria’s version of Jackie Robinson and Jimmy Brown. He was Bo Jackson before Bo Jackson. An inspiration to all in a rural community of 16,000. RIP Grant!!!
Writen by Rick Markoff
Perhaps the greatest athlete in the history of Fostoria, Ohio, sports has passed. Grant Jackson, World Series winner, was 78 years old.
Picture this. During Grant’s senior year at Fostoria High School, he was an All-American running back, a star performer with Tim Carman on the basketball team, qualified for three events at the Ohio Track and Field Championships (long jump, high jump, and shot put), but stood tallest on the baseball diamond. The southpaw signed a bonus contract (all of $4,000) with the Philadelphia Phillies who loved his freakish fast ball.
Grant pitched in the major leagues from 1965-1982, striking out hundreds of batters, fast ball after fast ball. In all, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, and Kansas City Royals.
Perhaps Grant’s finest season was 1973 when he went 8-0, with a 1.90 earned run average (ERA) in 80.1 innings & 45 appearances with 47 strikeouts for the Orioles.
But, his finest hour may have been in the 1979 World Series when he got the win in Game 7 for the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates of Willie Stargell against the Orioles. He appeared in two other World Series, 1971 (an Orioles loss to Pittsburgh) and 1976 (a Yankees loss to Cincinnati).
An All-Star in 1969, Grant went 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA in helping the Yankees reach the postseason in 1976.
In 1981, Grant was the recipient of the Fireman Award, given to the National League's best reliever.
The three things I remember most about Grant: he came from the greatest sports family I have ever known (Brothers Bernard, Chuckie, Carlos, and Cecil were all amazing athletes, too. Carlos, star running back for the Bowling Green Falcons and 440 hurdles champion, was the finest coach I ever had, and Cecil was my classmate who, along with Jim Hauser (starting tailback University of Toledo and legendary track & field coach at Sandusky Perkins), led FHS to league championships in football, basketball, and track our senior year.); I rode with and spent the day with Grant, Carlos, and Tom Fant at the Ohio State Track and Field Championships in 1961 where he participated in three different events; and, we spent quality time together for several years when Grant came to Indianapolis as the Pitching Coach for the Reds’ AAA farm team, the Indianapolis Indians.
Grant was Fostoria’s version of Jackie Robinson and Jimmy Brown. He was Bo Jackson before Bo Jackson. An inspiration to all in a rural community of 16,000. RIP Grant!!!
Writen by Rick Markoff
