POWERGRAMS

39 the Tide team that won 11 straight before losing in the Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame aer the Coaches Poll had already declared Alabama the national champion. Jackson says it was the toughest loss of his football career. "That one hurt," he says. "I didn't get over that until we beat them in the (2012) national championship, 40 years later." By the season the Tide made up for Jackson's worst memory, black players comprised 70 percent of the University of Alabama's football roster. Jackson, who still holds the Tide record for yards per carry (7.2), was draed in the first NFL round by the San Francisco 49ers in 1974. Players made lile compared to signing salaries today, but it was new financial territory for the son of a career railroad man. "We never were rich but we had everything we needed growing up," he says. "When I signed that contract, it was more money than I'd ever seen. Everyone around town started thinking I was loaded. My whole thing became saving as much money as I possibly could." Jackson played five seasons with the 49ers, but had continuing leg problems that might have originated in the College All-American Game in Texas aer his senior year, which kept him from playing in the College All-Star Game in Chicago, he told Adams during a visit to Ozark. His right knee was badly injured three times in the pros, and Jackson says it still aches. The NFL was a dream scenario for Jackson, playing on the same field with his heroes, looking across the sidelines to see the likes of future Hall of Fame coaches Tom Landry and Hank Stram. However, Jackson's most fond memories of professional football aren't his on-field performances, but of the times other Crimson Tide alumni took the time to talk. Leroy Jordan, Kenny Stabler, E.J. Junior, Johnny Davis and many others greeted him before and aer games. "They wanted to make themselves known to me. It was all because of the connection to Alabama and coach Bryant," he says. "Those things stick in my mind and will probably be with me forever." Jackson spent his last three years in the NFL with the Washington Redskins. He closed out his football career in Super Bowl XVII, winning a World Championship ring. However, he played the game with a heavy heart. "I was geing dressed for practice when (future Hall of Fame coach) Joe Gibbs came up to me and said a bunch of reporters are going to be at your locker," Jackson says. "I said, 'What's wrong?' He said, 'Coach Bryant passed away.'" Unlike many prominent athletes, Jackson returned to his hometown at the end of his professional career, opening Three Star Cleaning Service. He ran the business for 30 years until his wife, Martha, became ill six years ago. They've been married 39 years and have a daughter, Emily, who lives in Ozark and visits almost every day. Jackson had a heart aack and surgery to implant stents in January but says he's "feeling good for an old man." Jackson says he never wanted to live anywhere except his hometown, where he and his sisters still look out for the house they grew up in. He was disheartened by life in the big city many years ago and is happy to get back to Ozark, where he's a hero to many people. "When I was in San Francisco, a guy had passed out on the sidewalk. I was the only person who stopped and helped him; everyone else just walked by," Jackson says. "I'd never seen that. I knew if I was in Ozark, every person would stop and check on him, or me. I knew I needed to go home." Jackson runs through Tennessee Vols at Legion Field; holds championship rings from playing days in SEC, NFL. Jackson enjoys being home in Ozark.

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