The Hornets have lost their greatest fan. John Jackson was a Charlotte staple for 32 years
Whenever Charlotte Hornets superfan John Jackson would text, Dell Curry always left him tickets. Curry knew how they’d be used right.
“He wasn’t giving them away or selling them,” said Curry, the ex-Hornet and now team’s television analyst. “He always had positivity as a fan — upbeat no matter how his team was doing. Always getting autographs and he really loved being on the Jumbotron.”
Jackson — known to friends as “Redd Foxx” for his resemblance to the Sanford & Son actor — passed away Monday at age 88. Constantly decked out in Hornets gear, he would dance in the aisles of Spectrum Center regularly during timeouts. After retirement from a job with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Jackson ushered for several years at the old Charlotte Coliseum and then uptown Spectrum Center, to keep attending games.
Jackson’s grandson, Bradford Brooks, said the family suspects Jackson died of a heart attack at his home. Jackson was recently diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, Brooks said.
Jackson spent his whole life in Charlotte, working first as a truck driver and then as a school custodian. He adopted the Hornets when the original team was formed in 1988, and never dropped his passion when that team moved to New Orleans and was replaced by the Bobcats (re-branded to Hornets in 2014).
“His house was like a museum; all the pictures of (ex-Hornets) Rex Chapman, Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues. All the memorabilia. He truly adored his favorite franchise,” Brooks said.
So much so that Jackson would often wear Hornets gear to Sunday services at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Beatties Ford Road.
Jackson didn’t always have the means to attend home games throughout the three-plus decades of the NBA in Charlotte. Hornets president Fred Whitfield frequently gave him tickets, which Whitfield said was rewarded with the most infectious smile in the building.
“That enormous smile!” said Whitfield, who views Jackson as the franchise’s longest and most loyal fan. “He would always be thrilled to be in the arena, whether it was an upper-deck seat or down by the floor. You would see him in the atrium always high-fiving people. Everyone knew him.”
In-person or not, Jackson was relentless about watching every game. He frequently told family he could only recall two games he didn’t at least tape for later viewing.
“He was very astute about the game and every opponent,” said Curry, who befriended Jackson years ago to the extent they had each other’s phone numbers. “He was great keeping up with my boys (NBA players Stephen and Seth Curry).
“Always so full of energy, and he’s seen everyone who ever played here ... If there was any way he could figure out to get to that arena, he would.”
Pride in work
Brooks still has voice mails on his phone from Jackson, telling him to come over for a new piece of Hornets swag.
“He was always decked out in Hornets gear or Panthers gear. And always giving out stuff to us,” said Brooks of Jackson’s six grandchildren. “It was ‘Hey, come pick up this Hornets T-shirt I got you!’ Or ‘Pick up this new Panthers jacket!’
“He never had a wealthy life. But he found pride in working, providing for his family.”
Joyfulness
Brooks called Jackson “Papa.” He said the biggest thing the family drew from Jackson was the power of joyfulness.
“To have the full life he had, he was always the life of the party,” Brooks said. “He couldn’t always give you every answer, but he was the grandfather who was super wise; who would motivate you to do what you wanted to do. You saw that within him.
“I never saw him in a bad mood. Always in his presence when we were kids, he set that tone with us.”
There will be a public walk-through visitation for Jackson from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Grier Funeral Home in Charlotte, followed by a Monday service for the family.
