Jack Jacobs
Encyclopedia
"Indian" Jack Jacobs was an American
and Canadian football
player in the National Football League
and Western Interprovincial Football Union. He was a charter member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
in 1963.
, and played high school football
at Muskogee High School
. He was popularly known as "Indian Jack" because he was a Creek
man, at a time when the use of such terminology was not seen as offensive.
at the University of Oklahoma
. Considered a phenomenal all-round player and starting quarterback, Jack averaged 47.84 yards per kick in 1940 (which remains an OU record) with a career average of 42.10. He holds the record for passing percentage in a game completing 8 out of 8 passes (1.000)(OU v. Kansas 1941). Jacobs accumulated the most offense yardage in 1940/1941 (junior & senior years). As a defensive back, Jacobs is tied with seven other players for the record number of interceptions in a game (3)(1941 OU v. Marquette).
in the second round of the 1942 NFL Draft
. He played quarterback, defensive back
, tailback
, halfback
, punter in the National Football League
with the Cleveland Rams
(1942–1945), the Washington Redskins
(1946) and the Green Bay Packers
(1947–1949, see (http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Letters-To-Lee-Remmel/94cefa36-5aa4-11df-a3b6-528cc843f916)and led the league in punting in 1947
. Also see (http://www.nfl.com/players/jackjacobs/careerstats?id=JAC740296).
for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
(1950–1954), where he won the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy
in 1952. Though Jacobs did not invent the forward pass
, he is widely recognized as one of the key figures in making the forward pass an integral part of professional football. His exciting passing game drew thousands of fans to Blue Bombers games, instigating the need for the city to build a larger stadium, Winnipeg Stadium (now called Canad Inns Stadium
).
As a Blue Bombers Jacobs completed 709 of 1,330 passes for 11,094 yards, at that time the all-time leading passer for the Western Interprovincial Football Union
. In 1951, he became the first professional football player to throw for 3,000 yards in a season with 3,248. Also he was first player to throw for more than 30 touchdowns with 33. The next season Jacobs threw 34 touchdowns and amassed 2,586 yards. Jacobs had 104 touchdown passes to only 53 interceptions.
With Jacobs as their starting
quarterback the Bombers compiled a record of 46 wins, 27 losses and three ties. They lost the Grey in 1950
to the Toronto Argonauts
(13-0) and again in 1953
to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
(12-6).
Winnipeg Stadium, built in 1953, was nicknamed "The House That Jack Built" because of Jacobs' contribution to the success of the team.
Jacobs was twice a Grey Cup
finalist, was named the all-western quarterback twice, and was one of the original inductees to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
in June 1963. He was also inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977, and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
in 2004. Several records he set while at the University of Oklahoma still stand.
for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and later, was a coach
for the London Lords
of the Ontario Rugby Football Union
(ORFU) for two seasons. He also worked as an assistant coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
, Montreal Alouettes
and the Edmonton Eskimos
.
Jacobs was also an actor who played a professional football player in the 1948 movie, Triple Threat. Jacobs died in 1974 in Greensboro, North Carolina
from a sudden heart attack.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
player in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and Western Interprovincial Football Union. He was a charter member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
in 1963.
Early life
Jacobs was born in Holdenville, OklahomaHoldenville, Oklahoma
Holdenville is a city in Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,732 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hughes County....
, and played high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Muskogee High School
Muskogee High School
Muskogee High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Muskogee, Oklahoma. MHS has a steady enrollment of 1,700 students. It is accredited by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association...
. He was popularly known as "Indian Jack" because he was a Creek
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
man, at a time when the use of such terminology was not seen as offensive.
College career
Jacobs played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. Considered a phenomenal all-round player and starting quarterback, Jack averaged 47.84 yards per kick in 1940 (which remains an OU record) with a career average of 42.10. He holds the record for passing percentage in a game completing 8 out of 8 passes (1.000)(OU v. Kansas 1941). Jacobs accumulated the most offense yardage in 1940/1941 (junior & senior years). As a defensive back, Jacobs is tied with seven other players for the record number of interceptions in a game (3)(1941 OU v. Marquette).
National Football League
Jacobs was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the second round of the 1942 NFL Draft
1942 NFL Draft
The 1942 National Football League Draft was held on December 22, 1941.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:-Round eleven:...
. He played quarterback, defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
, tailback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
, punter in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Cleveland Rams
Cleveland Rams
The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio.The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League...
(1942–1945), the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
(1946) and the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
(1947–1949, see (http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Letters-To-Lee-Remmel/94cefa36-5aa4-11df-a3b6-528cc843f916)and led the league in punting in 1947
1947 NFL season
The 1947 NFL season was the 28th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season by one game from eleven games per team to twelve, a number that remained constant until the 1961 season....
. Also see (http://www.nfl.com/players/jackjacobs/careerstats?id=JAC740296).
Western Interprovincial Football Union
Jacobs then joined the Western Interprovincial Football Union as a quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
(1950–1954), where he won the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy
Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy
The Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Canadian Football League West Division's Most Outstanding Player, chosen from the nominees from each team in the division...
in 1952. Though Jacobs did not invent the forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
, he is widely recognized as one of the key figures in making the forward pass an integral part of professional football. His exciting passing game drew thousands of fans to Blue Bombers games, instigating the need for the city to build a larger stadium, Winnipeg Stadium (now called Canad Inns Stadium
Canad Inns Stadium
Canad Inns Stadium is a Canadian football stadium located north of Polo Park Shopping Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Stadium, named for hotel chain Canad Inns, and originally completed in 1953, seats 29,533 for football...
).
As a Blue Bombers Jacobs completed 709 of 1,330 passes for 11,094 yards, at that time the all-time leading passer for the Western Interprovincial Football Union
Canadian Football League West Division
The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.-Pre-1936:...
. In 1951, he became the first professional football player to throw for 3,000 yards in a season with 3,248. Also he was first player to throw for more than 30 touchdowns with 33. The next season Jacobs threw 34 touchdowns and amassed 2,586 yards. Jacobs had 104 touchdown passes to only 53 interceptions.
With Jacobs as their starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
quarterback the Bombers compiled a record of 46 wins, 27 losses and three ties. They lost the Grey in 1950
38th Grey Cup
The 38th Grey Cup, played at Varsity Stadium in Toronto on November 25, 1950, before 27,101 fans, also known as the Mud Bowl, was the Canadian football championship game played between the Toronto Argonauts and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...
to the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
(13-0) and again in 1953
41st Grey Cup
The 41st Grey Cup game was the Canadian Football Championship in 1953. Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12-6 at Toronto's Varsity Stadium in a game which ended on a controversial pass incompletion.-Pre-game background:...
to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
(12-6).
Winnipeg Stadium, built in 1953, was nicknamed "The House That Jack Built" because of Jacobs' contribution to the success of the team.
Jacobs was twice a Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
finalist, was named the all-western quarterback twice, and was one of the original inductees to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
in June 1963. He was also inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977, and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, dedicated to the history of sport in Manitoba and honouring the best in sport. The organization began in 1980 and in 1993, a museum was opened in The Forks...
in 2004. Several records he set while at the University of Oklahoma still stand.
Postfootball
In 1955, Jacobs was a scoutScout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and later, was a coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
for the London Lords
London Lords
The London Lords were a Canadian football team of the 1950s and 1960s from London, Ontario. They played their home games at Labatt Park. They won the last Ontario Rugby Football Union Senior championship in 1960, and then continued to play ORFU Intermediate football until the league folded.-ORFU...
of the Ontario Rugby Football Union
Ontario Rugby Football Union
The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...
(ORFU) for two seasons. He also worked as an assistant coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
, Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
and the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
.
Jacobs was also an actor who played a professional football player in the 1948 movie, Triple Threat. Jacobs died in 1974 in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
from a sudden heart attack.