I’m an individual, you can’t fool me.
That was the line that made Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson even more famous. Or infamous, if you choose.
It made up part of the chorus to his single, which made it to number 15 on the Australian Charts in 1985, as Jacko made the segue from footy star to singer, in one of the many exploits he pursued both during and after his footy career..
Yes, Jacko was an individual, inasmuch as it appeared he was completely unhinged. And whilst he rode that persona to fame in Energizer Battery commercials, and in smaller acting roles, Jackson’s footballing exploits were what people remember him most fondly for.
Unless you were his opponent, I guess.
Jackson, on ability alone, should have been the last piece of the puzzle for teams, an done of the great full forwards of his generation. Perhaps of all-time.
He was a genuine powerhouse – a full forward who was a deadly shot at goal, and whose physical presence struck fear into the opposition. However, his increasingly wild antics and behaviour saw him become more of a distraction. And it also saw him bounce from club to club in a tumultuous, and all-too-quick, VFL tenure.
In 1979, he moved from South Fremantle to the Richmond reserves, where he kicked a mammoth 131 goals from 22 games. Ready for the maths?
That’s 5.95 goals per game.
It was obvious the talent was there, but the league was in for something else, as well. The Jacko Show was just about to start.
Over two seasons with the Demons, Jacko managed 152 goals (76 in each season), but his most memorable moment came when he performed a handstand in front of Hawthorn fullback, Kelvin Moore.
Apparently, Moore had told Jackson that he would never be a full forward as long as his arse pointed to the ground. Jackson, ever the lateral thinker, made the handstand adjustment, pointing his arse to the heavens. It was the final game of the 1979 season, and Jackson left onlookers stunned.
He later stated that his handstand was directed at field umpire, Glenn James (one of the greatest umpires ever!) after he disagreed with his decision. Footage does show Jackson gesturing toward James, so as much as the Moore story is what people want to hear, it is very likely that Jackson’s version is the truth.
In an age when goals flowed, Jackson didn’t win the goal kicking at Melbourne in his second season, pipped by one by Gerard Healy. Not a bad season from Gerard, huh? It was after that Jackson moved to St Kilda.
And oh, how the sparks flew.
Jacko spent just one season at Moorabbin, despite signing a three-year deal. By Round Ten, he found himself in the reserves for “disciplinary reasons”.
After returning for a week, he finished his tenure at the club, dismissed following a series of idiotic pranks. These including placing a brick under the brake pedal of Trevor Barker’s car, and placing a lit cigarette in the pocket of club chairman, Lindsay Fox.
Suffice to say, Jacko wore out his welcome pretty quickly. Even back then, three year deals were not worth the paper they were written on.
His final stop was Geelong.
Everyone remembers the violent incident between Leigh Matthews and Neville Bruns, which left the Geelong star with his jaw wired shut, and Matthews facing police charges, but if you listen to the commentary of that footage, you can hear something else. The commentator clearly states “I don’t care who thinks Jackson can play football – he’s basically started all this.”
Whilst it is completely unfair to insinuate that the actions of Matthews stemmed from anything Jackson did, it is intimated that Jacko was involved with earlier scuffles that set the tone for the Matthews assault. Lethal did what he did, and is completely responsible for his own actions, however, that game was a powderkeg, and the actions of Jackson may have lit the fuse.
And Jackson has the rap sheet from the day to prove it.
He was reported four times – by all four umpires for a strike on Gary Ayres, by the goal umpire for striking Chris Langford, and by the field umpire twice for striking Langford. He was also reported by the field umpire for hitting Chris Mew.
They resulted in a combined eight-week suspension.
It all flew under the radar, however, in light of the developing police involvement in the Matthew-Bruns incident. Jackson would have the weeks off, but in contrast, his involvement seemed minimal.
In 1986, he played just two games before pulling the pin on his professional footy career, and many breathed a sigh of relief.
Jackson is a hard man to get a handle on. Was his ‘Wacko Jacko’ persona an act, or was it just an extension of the person he was? His football talent cannot be denied, but even a club desperate for a full forward will only tolerate so much before they ship out a malcontent.
In an Open Mike interview later in life, Jackson went right after former Chief Football Writer from the Herald-Sun, Mike Sheahan. Jacko blamed the journalist for some of the negative press he received during his carer… as though Sheahan just made up the things he was reporting on.
Sheahan appeared shocked by the ferocity of Jackson’s allegations, and the grudge he held for so many years. It was a tense, and at times uncomfortable, half an hour, but damn, it made for a great piece of footy TV. I’d highly recommend finding it on YouTube.
Jackson was, and remains, an individual. His five years in the VFL saw him play 82 games, and resulted in 308 goals. Say what you want about Jackson, but that is a stellar return – an average of 3.75 goals per game. He was held goalless just once – in his third-last game, and was as deadly a shot at goal as you’ll find.
Still, all that talent and all that potential was, and always will be, overshadowed by a personality that was simply too wild, and too “out there” for a league that was being dragged, kicking and screaming, toward professionalism.
There has been nothing remotely like him since, and I can safely say, there never will be.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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