By the Numbers: Action Jackson

HARLINGEN - Johnnie Jackson stood on the football field remembering the days when he used to walk home after practice.
As a sophomore, junior and senior, Jackson starred for the Harlingen Cardinals.
And everyday when practice concluded, Jackson would walk home.
The summer heat combined with the intense workouts would cause Jackson to cramp at times.
"I remember my mother would put ice on my legs when I got home," Jackson recalled last week when he visited Harlingen for a family reunion.
For that instant, it seemed Jackson was back home again walking to his house from Harlingen High and before that Vernon Junior High.
But reality quickly set in and Jackson realized he was on the biggest stage of his life.
Jackson was standing on the turf at the Superdome in New Orleans in January 1990 with guys like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott.
And his San Francisco 49ers were playing for their fourth Super Bowl title in as many trips.
Jackson, who wore the No. 40 jersey in the NFL, is the next installment in the Valley Morning Star's By The Numbers Summer Series.
The Niners manhandled the Denver Broncos 55-10 that year.
And Jackson became only the third Valley native to win a Super Bowl. Jim Hudson (La Feria-Jets) and Norm Evans (Donna-Dolphins) were the other two.
"It was just a dream come true," Jackson said. "You think about all the work you put in during college and high school and even back to junior high. You sacrifice a lot. But when you make it, it's all worth it."
Jackson's tale ended in storybook fashion playing in the pros for four seasons.
But it all started in a modest single-parent household in Harlingen where Jackson was the youngest of seven siblings.
Jackson's father passed away when he was 4.
His mother, Charlie, was forced to play a dual role in Jackson's upbringing.
"He never gave me any problems," Charlie said. "I was always there at every one of his sports events. He was very quiet growing up, but he was involved in whatever sport was in season."
But while Jackson played baseball, basketball and ran track for the Cardinals, it was in football where the 1984 Offensive Player of the Year excelled.
Jackson backed up quarterback Sam Garza as a sophomore and finally took over as starter during his junior season.
Jackson led the Cards to the postseason his senior season where Harlingen tied Corpus Christi Miller 14-14, but lost 5-3 on penetrations.
"When I look back, Harlingen was very supportive and it was a great honor to play for this community," said Jackson, now an elementary principal in Houston. "I remember as a kid going to games at Boggus. Then playing there when I was in high school was something else. I drove by the stadium the other day and it looks great. Harlingen still supports its athletics."
Jackson went on to a fruitful career with the University of Houston where he switched from QB to cornerback.
Bill Yeoman still coached the Coogs during Jackson's freshman season. But Jack Pardee took over for Jackson's final three seasons.
Jackson called Yeoman a players' coach. Pardee was more businesslike and ran a pro-style program.
But Jackson learned a lot about the game from the legendary Pardee.
Jackson's highlight at Houston came during his junior season when he intercepted three passes and ran all three back for touchdowns in a 60-40 upset of the University of Texas in '87.
The three returned picks still stands as a NCAA record for a single game.
Jackson could have turned pro as a junior, but opted to wait until after his senior season.
The 49ers made Jackson their fifth overall pick of the 1989 NFL Draft.
Jackson spent four seasons in the NFL with the Niners and Green Bay.
"I grew up a big Dallas Cowboys' fan," Jackson said. "And I always hoped that one day I could step on that field."
And Jackson did.
In one game during his rookie season, Jackson scooped up a blocked Dallas field goal and returned it for a touchdown.
It was yet another dream realized by the former Cardinal turned Cougar turned 49er turned Super Bowl Champion.
"I was floating on air," Jackson said.