Eddie Jackson was the ultimate Rattler.

He dedicated his life to enhancing the Florida A&M experience through 58 years of work done for the university, from producing the school’s 1966 yearbook to presiding over the 220 Quarterback Club.

Jackson died Monday at 86 years old, his wife, Jerrlyne Jackson announced.

“Eddie was a legend. There is no replacement for Eddie Jackson,” said Rattler Boosters President Selvin Cobb, who met Jackson in 1968.

“He was a visionary. He saw things he wanted FAMU to do and thought he could help drive that force — just a great person for Florida A&M University.

“We’re going to miss him. But, we got to go on.”

More: Eddie Jackson, 220 Quarterback Club President, FAMU Sports Hall of Famer passes away

Originally from Orlando, Jackson arrived at FAMU from St. Petersburg’s Gibbs Junior College in 1964. While a FAMU student, Jackson produced the university’s 1966 yearbook and worked for the student publication The FAMUAN.

After graduating in 1966, Jackson became FAMU’s sports information director. In total, Jackson spent 39 professional years at FAMU, which included roles such as the director of placement and career counseling, university public relations director, and vice president for university relations, before retiring in 2002.

“He was such a great citizen in this community, a wonderful public servant, a Christian man, and a person who cared about people,” said former Leon County School Board member Georgia “Joy” Bowen, a close family friend who knew Jackson for over 20 years.

Following his retirement, Jackson delved back into his journalistic work by writing ‘Coaching Against the Wind’ in 2009 to detail FAMU football’s national championship seasons. Jackson also penned guest columns for the Tallahassee Democrat.

In 2009, Jackson launched the 220 Quarterback Club, a support group for Rattlers football. Throughout the years, the club grew from supporting football to raising funds and awareness for all of FAMU’s athletic teams and other university divisions.

Jackson’s work at FAMU connected him with the Rattlers’ national championship football coaches, such as his close friend and confidant, Jake Gaither.

With Jackson’s philanthropic efforts through the 220 Quarterback Club, he and the organization helped FAMU football claim its first Southwestern Athletic Conference and Celebration Bowl titles in 2023 under former coach Willie Simmons.

Jackson and the 220 Quarterback Club donated a nutrition station, televisions, and renovations for the Galimore-Powell Fieldhouse. Also, their contributions led to FAMU football having the first HBCU program to have a cooling station for its preseason training camp.

“Words can’t describe the impact Eddie had on me, my family, and the football program,” said Simmons, now the running backs assistant coach at Duke University.

“From the time I met Eddie in 2018, there wasn’t a time that I asked for something and he said no. Everyone knows he loved FAMU, the athletic department, and the 220 Quarterback Club. His charisma and loving kindred spirit galvanized people when times seemed gloomy or out of order.

“He was a blessing to all of us and will truly be missed by all who had the opportunity to get to know him.”

FAMU's Eddie Jackson: 'The kind of person we need more of today.'

Jackson kept envisioning the club's next step in promoting the university and its athletic program.

In an April 220 Quarterback Club luncheon, Jackson announced a $1 million fundraising campaign to raise money for FAMU Athletics.

A percentage of the money would be split between FAMU men’s and women’s sports and an Althea Gibson statue at the university’s tennis complex.

Cobb said that the 220 Quarterback Club, which meets weekly, will continue following Jackson’s death.

“Mr. Jackson was one of the first people who reached out to me when I started in this role to extend his unwavering support of Rattler athletics,” said FAMU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes in a prepared statement.

“I will miss our friendly banter at the 220 Quarterback Club meetings and his captivating storytelling. He was a model Rattler, and his transition creates a void that will be felt by many, myself included. My thoughts are with Mrs. Jerrlyne, the Jackson family, members of the 220 Quarterback Club and Rattlers everywhere during this time."

Jackson’s FAMU-related efforts included honoring Tuskegee Airman Lt. James Polkinghorne Jr. with the residence hall renaming of FAMU Village in 2019 — an initiative he worked on closely with Marjorie Turnbull, a former state representative and former member of the FAMU Board of Trustees.

Turnbull reminisced about all her phone calls with Jackson, during which he told her about his ideas.

“That was Eddie Jackson. If he had a great idea, he wouldn’t let it go,” said Turnbull, also a former Leon County commissioner. “He always made everyone else feel like it was their idea too, and he had people want to be a part of whatever he suggested.”

“He was such a good friend, and I always considered him admirable,” she added. “He represented the kind of person we need more of today. He brought people together and brought ideas forward that benefited others. It was never about him — it was always about helping others.”

James Mathews, a retired state inspector general, knew Jackson for nearly half his 86-year lifetime. The two men were friends for 40 years.

“Eddie gave new meaning to friendship, giving, commitment, and dedication,” Mathews said. “The community and FAMU, in particular, will never be the same. That’s because Eddie succeeded in making a difference in the lives of so many people and bettering the support for so many worthy causes.”

In a Tuesday Facebook post, award-winning author Samuel Freedman, a former columnist for The New York Times and a professor of journalism at Columbia University, reflected on Jackson’s intellect along with his other highlighted attributes.

Freedman explained how Jackson played a key role in his work as he wrote “Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights” in 2013. The book tells the story of the Grambling Tigers and FAMU Rattlers — rivalry football teams led by legendary coaches Eddie Robinson and Gaither — and how they revolutionized college sports.

“Eddie Jackson was one of those people who makes HBCUs so remarkable,” Freedman said in his post. “He was an intellectual, a historian, a communications administrator, a sports booster — in all ways a Mr. FAMU.

"I learned so much from him while working on ‘Breaking The Line,’ and cherished all our conversations and emails during and after the years I spent on the book. Be with the Ancestors, my friend. They deserve your splendid company.”

Among many roles, FAMU's Eddie Jackson was a 'great mentor'

When Tallahassee City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox learned of Jackson’s passing Monday night, she said all she could utter was “No, no, no, no.”

As a FAMU student in the early 1980s, Williams-Cox worked for Jackson in the career placement office on campus. He helped her get an internship with General Motors at the automobile giant's headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.

“Throughout the years, he’s always been a mentor and someone I could call and check in with to pick his brain,” Williams-Cox said. “FAMU has lost one of our great champions. I say lost, but he’s now become, like many others, a guardian angel for FAMU.”

Former U.S. Representative Al Lawson Jr. — who met Jackson in 1966 while attending FAMU — also considered Jackson to be a mentor, and said he was instrumental in his decision to run for the Florida House of Representatives in 1982.

In turn, Lawson always returned the favor by contributing to Jackson’s donation efforts towards FAMU.

“I lost a good friend and a great mentor. Eddie was like family to me,” said Lawson, who played basketball and ran track and field for the FAMU Rattlers while attending the university.

“We had a great partnership in wanting to do everything we possibly could to enhance the learning process for students, especially in athletics. He always wanted to raise money and do things for the university. Over the years, every time Eddie would call and ask for any contribution, I would never tell him no. Because he never told me no to anything I asked for.

“Eddie was community-oriented and beloved by everybody. He will live in our minds forever. It brings a smile to my face when I think about it.”

Jackson’s celebration of life will be at 11 a.m. Monday June 10 at the Old West Enrichment Center at 2344 Lake Bradford Road. It can be virtually streamed on YouTube.

Visitation time with the Jackson family will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday June 9 at Bethel AME Church's Fellowship Hall. Also, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Eddie Jackson Scholarship through the FAMU Foundation at 625 East Tennessee Street, Suite 100 (Account #: 2714).

Contact Gerald Thomas, III via email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee. Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 'Mr. FAMU': Eddie Jackson remembered as the ultimate Rattler