Howard Stern gets Reggie Jackson to admit to womanizing in his playing days: ‘I cheated a lot’
Trusting Reggie Jackson at the plate was one thing. Trusting him on the road was something else entirely.
Mr. October admitted to womanizing while promoting Amazon’s upcoming documentary about his life in an interview with howard stern On Wednesday.
“It wasn’t hard for me to open my heart, but it was hard for me to be loyal,” said Jackson, 76. “As a man, I cheated a lot.”
A powerful left-handed slugger who won three World Series with the Oakland Athletics and another two with the New York Yankees, Jackson’s Hall of Fame career was defined by his clutch punches and astonishing talent for capturing media attention. . He was also known to party at trendy clubs, such as Studio 54, where he would frequently party with beautiful women.
“I won’t blame any excuse,” he said. ‘I just cheated. I saw a cute girl and tried to sleep with her… I had access and I took advantage of it. And I missed a couple of wonderful women in my life and it’s my fault.
Former Oakland A’s and New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson admitted to serial infidelity during an interview Wednesday on Howard Stern’s Sirius/XM radio show.
Reggie Jackson and guest attend the Studio 54 One Year Anniversary Party on April 26, 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City
Jackson was married once, but he and Jennie Campos divorced in 1973, while he was still playing for Oakland.
Refusing to make excuses for his behavior in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, Jackson appears to be a much different person now. He is currently in a relationship with a woman, whom he will ‘probably’ end up marrying.
“She is a tremendous friend, I love life and spending time with her,” he said.
Jackson also has a daughter, Kimberly, from a previous relationship.
“I have a wonderful daughter,” he said. “I wasn’t married when I had her, but what an incredible experience, and she has given me two grandchildren: two boys, and one of the boys, the poor son of a bitch, looks just like me.”
Jackson would take a job as special counsel to the Yankees after his playing career, and was even interested in becoming an owner of the team at one point.
But as he revealed to Stern, Jackson said then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig stopped him from buying the A’s in 2005, instead turning the team over to one of his old college friends.
Reggie Jackson and a guest photographed in 1978 at Studio 54
Reggie Jackson sighted on April 26, 1978 leaving Studio 54 in New York City
Reggie Jackson #44 of the New York Yankees is interviewed by Bob Uecker at the locker room after the Yankees won the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 18, 1977 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
Yankees manager Billy Martin and 1977 World Series MVP Reggie Jackson
As Jackson explained, a group of investors, including Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, planned to buy the team and offered $25 million more than the closest offer. That should have been enough to close the deal, Jackson said, adding that he “absolutely believed” Selig intervened on behalf of his friend Lew Wolff.
‘[Selig] he said, “Reggie, stay with me, I’ll guide you, I’ll do this for you, don’t worry,” Jackson told Stern. “Then all of a sudden word came out that the A’s were sold to a guy named Lew Wolff, Bud Selig’s college roommate.”
Jackson was so upset by the sale that he almost sued Major League Baseball, but was dissuaded by league pundits, in part, because he was worried about being left out.
“I never filed it,” Jackson said. ‘I was scared by some people in baseball. They said, “Reggie, the first thing you’re going to have to do is quit baseball, quit the Yankees, and you probably won’t get rehired.”
Wolff eventually bought the A’s for $180 million in 2005, but sold his shares over the years, stepping down as managing partner and co-owner in 2016.
Amazon’s documentary about Jackson, “Reggie,” opens Friday on Prime.
Jackson said then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig (pictured) stopped him from buying the A’s in 2005, instead turning the team over to one of his old college friends.