During his long career as a sports broadcaster, Kevin Waugh met a lot of celebrities.

The strangest meeting was one with Bo Jackson, who is among the greatest two-sport athletes of all-time.

The reason this comes to mind is because Kevin’s story of the meeting Jackson appears in a biography which was released in late October.

The book is called The Last Folk Hero, the Life and Myth of Bo Jackson. It is on my Christmas wish list.

Author Jeff Pearlman asked on Twitter a year ago if anyone had a Bo Jackson story that they would be willing to share for possible inclusion in a book he was writing.

I thought immediately of Kevin, who spent more than 35 years as a sports broadcaster, before entering the realm of federal politics in 2015.

I told Pearlman that my friend had an unusual conversation with Jackson in a Saskatoon bathroom. Pearlman was, as you would expect, intrigued. Or maybe he thought I was full of you-know-what.

With Kevin’s permission, I gave his cell number to Pearlman.

The story Kevin told Pearlman takes up a page and a half — numbers 428 and 429 to be exact — in the book, which is sure to be on the New York Times bestseller’s list, like other Pearlman books.

The story took place at the 2013 Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner in Saskatoon. Jackson and Steve Yzerman were the celebrity speakers.

At a media event before bread was broken, Kevin asked Jackson if he would sign a sports card for co-worker Corey Tomyn. Jackson seemed hesitant but, at the urging of Yzerman, signed it.

Kevin went back to the station, gave the card to Tomyn, did his supper-time sportscast and went to the dinner.

Kevin was barely through the door, when a harried dinner official told him that Jackson was looking for him. Kevin was told that Jackson wanted the sports card back and was furious. It was suggested that Kevin leave.

Kevin decided to ponder this advice while standing in front of a urinal. Unfortunately for Kevin, Jackson saw him go into the bathroom. It seems more plausible that someone ratted Kevin out. Seeing someone go into a bathroom in a crowd of 1,000 people seems a bit off.

Anyway, Jackson stormed in and told Kevin that he wanted the card. Kevin was busy, but told Jackson his co-worker had the card and lived 30 miles out of Saskatoon.

Jackson said he wanted the card before the end of the night.

Or else?

Kevin did the wise thing and left the dinner. The story would be better had he stayed.

Kevin later found out that Jackson had signed a deal with a card company and didn’t want his signature on the card of a competitor.

“Which, of course, doesn’t make the way he behaved right or any less strange. I mean, he followed me into a bathroom,” Kevin told Pearlman.

Safe to say that Kevin ruined Jackson’s dinner.

The book is getting great reviews. I would think no less of a Pearlman book. He did more than 700 interviews for this one.

Jackson’s career in football was cut way too short when he suffered a hip injury in 1991 at the age of 28. Three years later, he was no longer able to play baseball.

In baseball, in 2,393 at-bats, which is about the equivalent of four full seasons, he hit 141 home runs and stole 82 bases. He had an incredible throwing arm. Search for the videos. He made the American League all-star team in 1989.

In the NFL, he played 38 games, rushing 515 times for 2,782 yards, and 16 touchdowns.

The book is 500 pages long. I am sure there are many great stories in it, but none will be better than the one that unfolded in a bathroom at TCU Place in Saskatoon nine years ago.

*****

In the world of great two-sport athletes, Jim Thorpe is generally regarded as the best. He’s in the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, although he might be better known for his prowess on the track, where he won gold medals in both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics.

The best two-sport female athlete ever is definitively Babe Didrikson, who won 10 majors on the LPGA tour. She won gold medals in the 80 metres and javelin, and a silver medal in the high jump at the 1932 Olympics. Hard to top that, female or male.

One of my new favourite two-sport athletes is Walter Ray Williams Jr.

He is a seven-time winner of the player-of-the-year award in American professional bowling. He has won 100 events, has thrown 110 perfect games and was the subject of a documentary.

He is also a competitive horseshoe pitcher, winning nine world championships.

He once pitched horseshoes at the White House with President George W. Bush. And get this, he finished second at the 2005 worlds after switching from right-handed to left-handed.

The things a person learns when searching “two-sport athletes” on Google.

• Cam Hutchinson