Wyncote's Reggie Jackson Selected As All-Time Great Athlete From Philly Area

ABINGTON, PA -- Oftentimes our favorite athletes come to be icons for cities purely by chance. They weren't born there, they didn't go to school there, but rather happened to be picked in the draft, or happened to be traded at the right time - and the rest is history.

But MLB.com was interested in what local, homegrown talent defined each city and its immediate surrounding area. Who are the five greatest baseball players from all 27 Major League cities?

For Philadelphia, writers selected three Hall of Famers: Reggie Jackson, of Wyncote (born in Abington), Mike Piazza, of Phoenixville and Norristown, and Roy Campanella, of Germantown.

Souderton's Jamie Moyer and Germantown's Bucky Walters were also picked.

Here's what they had to say about Jackson:

""Mr. October" was born in Abington, Pa., and he was raised north of Philadelphia, mostly by his father. He starred in football, basketball, baseball and track before accepting a football scholarship to Arizona State University. He ended up a better baseball player. Jackson spent his entire career in the AL, so he never played professionally in his hometown."

During his storied 21-year career, Jackson won five World Series titles. In two of those series, he was named MVP. He is widely considered one of the greatest power hitters and clutch players of all time.

Image via Archive.org, MLB and the New York Yankees courtesy of Commons