.jpg) Jacobs, circa 1944 | |
| No. 43, 77, 27 | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Quarterback Halfback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1919-08-07)August 7, 1919 Holdenville, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 1974(1974-01-12) (aged 54) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 186 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Muskogee (Muskogee, Oklahoma) |
| College | Oklahoma |
| NFL draft | 1942: 2nd round, 12th overall pick |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1942 & 1945 | Cleveland Rams |
| 1946 | Washington Redskins |
| 1947–1949 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1950–1954 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers (WIFU) |
| 1956 | London Lords (ORFU) |
| 1964 | Toledo Tornadoes |
Coaching | |
| 1956-1957 | London Lords |
| 1963 | Edmonton Eskimos (Backfield Coach) |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1963) | |
Jack Jacobs (August 7, 1919 – January 12, 1974), nicknamed "Indian Jack", was an American professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) andWestern Interprovincial Football Union. He was a charter member of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1963.
Jacobs was born inHoldenville, Oklahoma, and playedhigh school football atMuskogee High School. He was popularly known as "Indian Jack" because he was a citizen of theMuscogee Nation.[1]
Jacobs playedcollege football for theOklahoma Sooners. Considered a phenomenal all-round player, Jack started at bothquarterback andpunter, where he averaged 47.84 yards per kick in 1940 (which remains an OU record) and finished his collegiate career with a career average of 42.10. 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 vs.Marquette). He also played on theSooner baseball team.[2]
Jacobs was selected in the second round of the1942 NFL draft. He played quarterback,defensive back,tailback,halfback,punter in theNational Football League with theCleveland Rams in 1942 and 1945 (serving in theU.S. Army Air Force duringWorld War Two), theWashington Redskins in 1946 and theGreen Bay Packers from 1947 to 1949.[3] he led the league in punting in1947.[4]
Jacobs then joined theWestern Interprovincial Football Union as aquarterback for theWinnipeg Blue Bombers (1950–1954), for whom he won theJeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy in 1952. Though Jacobs did not invent theforward pass, he is widely recognized as one of the key figures in making the forward pass an integral part of professional football.[5] 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 (later calledCanad Inns Stadium).[6]
As a Blue Bomber, Jacobs completed 709 of 1,330 passes for 11,094 yards, at that time the all-time leading passer for theWestern Interprovincial Football Union. In 1951, he became the first professional football player to throw for 3,000 yards in a season with 3,248. He was also the 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 theirstarting quarterback, the Bombers compiled a record of 46 wins, 27 losses, and three ties. They lost theGrey Cup in 1950 to theToronto Argonauts (13–0) and again in1953 to theHamilton 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 aGrey Cup finalist, was named the all-western quarterback twice, and was one of the original inductees to theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in June 1963. He was also inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, and theManitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2004. Several records he set while at the University of Oklahoma still stand.
Jacobs asked for his outright release from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in February 1956.[7] After being waived out of the WIFU, Jacobs signed a contract with theLondon Lords (ORFU) as the head coach. Jacobs also played most of the season for the Lords.[8]
In 1957, Jacobs added the role of general manager to his duties with the London Lords. Jacobs played in one exhibition game in 1957.[9]
After serving as an assistant coach in the CFL, Jacobs returned to the field as a player in 1964. Jacobs suited up for the Toledo Tornadoes (United Football League) and saw action primarily as a punter although he did see some action at quarterback as well.
Jacobs put on the pads for one final game on July 18, 1966, dressing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in an exhibition game.[10]
Source:[11]
| Statistics | Passing | Punting | Interceptions | ||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | GP | Att | Com | % | Yds | TD | Int | Lg | # | Yds | Ave. | Lg | S | No | Yds | Ave. | Lg | TD |
| 1942 | Cleveland Rams | 8 | 93 | 43 | 46.2 | 640 | 6 | 6 | 67 | 33 | 1395 | 42.3 | 66 | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1943 | Military Service | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1944 | Military Service | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1945 | Cleveland Rams | 2 | 5 | 3 | 60.0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 43 | 43.0 | 43 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1946 | Washington Redskins | 9 | 12 | 5 | 41.7 | 98 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 10 | 428 | 42.8 | 61 | 2 | 56 | 28.0 | 42 | 0 | |
| 1947 | Green Bay Packers | 12 | 242 | 108 | 44.6 | 1615 | 16 | 17 | 69 | 57 | 2481 | 43.5 | 74 | 4 | 64 | 16.0 | 29 | 0 | |
| 1948 | Green Bay Packers | 12 | 184 | 82 | 44.6 | 848 | 5 | 21 | 64 | 69 | 2782 | 40.3 | 78 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1949 | Green Bay Packers | 12 | 16 | 3 | 18.8 | 55 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 17 | 757 | 44.5 | 58 | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 1950 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 12 | 187 | 85 | 45.5 | 1604 | 14 | 8 | 94 | 3772 | 40.1 | 70 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1951 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 14 | 355 | 204 | 57.5 | 3248 | 33 | 10 | 100 | 95 | 3900 | 41.1 | 0 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1952 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 286 | 147 | 51.4 | 2586 | 34 | 12 | 103 | 4522 | 43.9 | 88 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1953 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 252 | 146 | 57.9 | 1924 | 11 | 10 | 112 | 4440 | 39.6 | 80 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1954 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 250 | 127 | 50.8 | 1732 | 12 | 13 | 114 | 4614 | 40.5 | 82 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| CFL Totals | 1330 | 709 | 53.3 | 11094 | 104 | 53 | 100 | 518 | 21248 | 41.0 | 88 | 55 | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 10 | 0 | ||
| NFL Totals | 552 | 244 | 44.2 | 3268 | 27 | 49 | 69 | 187 | 7886 | 42.2 | 78 | 12 | 168 | 14.0 | 42 | 0 | |||
| Totals | 1882 | 953 | 50.6 | 14362 | 131 | 102 | 100 | 705 | 29134 | 41.3 | 88 | 55 | 16 | 183 | 11.4 | 42 | 0 | ||
| Team | Year | Regular season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | ||
| LON | 1956 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 4th inORFU |
| LON | 1957 | 8 | 2 | 2 | .750 | 1st inORFU |
| Total | 11 | 9 | 2 | .545 | ||
In 1955, Jacobs was ascout for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and later, was acoach for theLondon Lords of theOntario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) for two seasons. He also worked as an assistant coach for theHamilton Tiger-Cats,Montreal Alouettes and theEdmonton Eskimos.
Jacobs was also an actor who played a professional football player in the 1948 movie,Triple Threat. Jacobs died in 1974 inGreensboro, North Carolina from a sudden heart attack.
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