He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, and Kansas City Royals from 1965 to 1982.

Jackson was a switch hitter who threw left-handed and served primarily as a relief pitcher.

[8] Made available by the Phillies because of several disagreements with manager Frank Lucchesi, Jackson was acquired along with Jim Hutto and Sam Parrilla by the Orioles for Roger Freed on December 15, 1970.

[9] In 1973, Jackson went 8–0, with a 1.90 earned run average (ERA) in 80.1 innings of work in 45 appearances with 47 strikeouts for the Orioles.

[10] Jackson was traded along with Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Elrod Hendricks and Jimmy Freeman from the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May and Dave Pagan at the trade deadline on June 15, 1976.

He was inducted into the Fostoria High School Hall of Fame two years later, as part of its inaugural class.