His father, Martinez Jackson, who was half Puerto Rican,[5] worked as a tailor and was a former second baseman with the Newark Eagles of Negro league baseball.

[10] The Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins also made offers, and the hometown Philadelphia Phillies gave him a tryout but declined because of his "hitting skills".

[12] In the beginning of his sophomore year in 1966, Jackson replaced Rick Monday (the first player ever selected in the Major League Baseball draft and a future teammate with the A's) at center field.

[15] In his final game at Arizona State, he showed his potential by being only a triple away from hitting for the cycle, making a sliding catch, and having an assist at home plate.

[21] Jackson, age 20, signed with the A's for $95,000 on June 13 and reported for his first training camp with the Lewis-Clark Broncs of the short season Single-A Northwest League in Lewiston, Idaho,[22] managed by Grady Wilson.

Jackson debuted in the major leagues with the A's in 1967 in a Friday doubleheader in Kansas City on June 9, a shutout sweep of the Cleveland Indians by scores of 2–0 and 6–0 at Municipal Stadium.

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.

Sports author Dick Crouser wrote, "When the late Al Helfer was broadcasting the Oakland A's games, he was not too enthusiastic about Reggie Jackson's speed or his hustle.

Jackson injured his shoulder, and catcher Ray Fosse, attempting to separate the combatants, suffered a crushed disk in his neck, costing him three months on the disabled list.

[40] The A's won a fifth consecutive division title, but the loss of pitcher Catfish Hunter, baseball's first modern free agent, left them vulnerable, and they were swept in the ALCS by the Boston Red Sox.

[41] With free agency imminent after the season and the expectations of higher salaries for which Athletics owner Finley was unwilling to pay, he was traded along with Ken Holtzman and minor-league right-handed pitcher Bill Van Bommel to the Baltimore Orioles for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell on April 2, 1976.

Jackson's version of the story is that he noted that the Yankees had won the pennant the year before, but lost the World Series to the Reds, and suggested that they needed one thing more to win it all, and pointed out the various ingredients in his drink.

Despite Jackson being 18 years younger, about two inches taller and maybe 40 pounds heavier, Martin lunged at him, and had to be restrained by coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard.

However, George Steinbrenner made a crucial intervention when he gave Martin the choice of either having Jackson bat in the fourth or "cleanup" spot for the remainder of the season, or lose his job.

Shortly after this point, as the end of the game neared, fans were bold enough to climb over the wall, draping their legs over the side in preparation for the moment when they planned to rush onto the field.

Steinbrenner, a Cleveland-area native, had hired former Indians star Al Rosen as his team president (replacing another Cleveland figure, Gabe Paul).

In Game Six, Jackson got his revenge against Welch by blasting a two-run home run in the seventh inning, putting the finishing touch on a series-clinching, 7–2 win for the Yankees.

He hit a long home run into the upper deck in Game Five of the strike-forced 1981 American League Division Series with the Brewers, and the Yankees went on to win the pennant again.

On April 27, 1982, in Jackson's first game back at Yankee Stadium with the Angels, he broke out of a terrible season-starting slump to hit a home run off former teammate Ron Guidry.

After his retirement as an active player, Jackson returned to his color commentary role covering the 1988 American League Championship Series (alongside Gary Bender and Joe Morgan) for ABC.

Jackson appeared in the film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, portraying an Angels outfielder hypnotically programmed to kill Queen Elizabeth II.

[81] On March 22, 1985, Jackson was attacked after a California Angels spring training 8–1 exhibition victory over the Cleveland Indians at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona.

[85][86][87] After the men recognized Jackson and asked for directions to the Palm Spring strip business district, he warned them to leave before they got into trouble and before he was forced to call the police.

By this point, the Yankees, long noted for being slow to adapt to changes in race relations, had come to develop many minority players in their farm system and seek out others via trades and free agency.

Jackson usually appears in uniform at the Yankees' spring training complex in Tampa, Florida and was sought out for advice by recent stars as Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

When Reggie Jackson tells a young kid how he might improve his swing, he tends to listen," said Hal Steinbrenner, Yankees managing general partner and co-chairperson.

[95] In a July 2012 interview with Sports Illustrated, Jackson was critical of the Baseball Writers' Association of America as he believes that the organization has lowered its standards for admission into the Hall of Fame.

"[67] On July 12, the Yankees released a statement regarding the Sports Illustrated interview in which Jackson said, "In trying to convey my feelings about a few issues that I am passionate about, I made the mistake of naming some specific players.

"[96] In 2007, ESPN aired a miniseries called The Bronx Is Burning about the 1977 Yankees, with the conflicts and controversies involving Jackson, portrayed by Daniel Sunjata, a central part of the storyline.

During the MLB at Rickwood Field tribute game in Birmingham, Alabama on June 20, 2024, Jackson joined dozens of baseball legends to celebrate the Negro leagues and honor the recently departed Willie Mays.