Today in Performance Sneaker History: Deion Sanders Meets Bo Jackson, Hits Inside-the-Park HR in Vintage Pony Cleats

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Throughout the years, there have been a number of dual-sport athletes, but few have managed to make impacts on the level of Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders.

Aside from their mesmerizing abilities on both the gridiron and the diamond, the two charismatic stars helped drive up the sales of some of Nike's most memorable '80s and '90s cross-trainers. Although Jackson never had an official signature model, he's synonymous with the Air Trainer SC line, and "Neon" Deion was known for his Diamond Turf styles.

Bo Jackson was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1986, and Deion Sanders joined the league just a few years later in 1989. Adding to their string of similarities, both Jackson and Sanders were center fielders for their respective teams. And on July 17, 1990, these two forces would meet for the first and only time.

The colossal match-up took place at Yankee Stadium, and although the Royals would power to a 10-7 win, Deion Sanders made sure to leave his mark in history. He had two home runs on the night, one of which was an inside-the-park homer. Meanwhile, Jackson had three consecutive HRs on three at bats, but was injured while fielding Sanders' in-the-park blast. Bo would go on to miss six weeks of play.

Before the Swoosh came calling and laced "Primetime" Deion in the popular Diamond Turf line, Sanders was wearing vintage Pony cleats. Completing the early '90s look was a sweet Jheri curl that would have made Eazy-E proud. Check out the action shot of Sanders leaping over catcher Mike Macfarlane as he completed the play above.

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