Jack Jacobs was a former Muskogee, University of Oklahoma and professional quarterback.
Born in Holdenville on August 7, 1919, Jacobs attended Muskogee High School, quarterbacking the Roughers to the 1935 state championship and earning All-State honors as a senior in 1937 after helping lead the team to a 9-2 record, with the only losses coming in one-point setbacks to powerhouses Little Rock Central and Oklahoma City Capitol Hill.
Jacobs had several scholarship offers, but chose OU over USC, Northwestern, LSU and SMU among others.
The first time he touched the ball at OU, he returned the opening kickoff of the 1939 season 64 yards against SMU. With the Sooners, he was both the starting quarterback and punter, leading the team in total offense in both 1940 and 1941.
In 1940, he earned second-team All-Big Six and first-team in 1941. His 47.84 yards per punt average in 1940 remains the all-time single-season record in OU history.
He also played defensive back, intercepting a team-record three interceptions in a game against Marquette in 1941. A multi-sport athlete, he also played baseball for the Sooners.
In 1942, Jacobs was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams and passed for 640 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.
His NFL career was interrupted by World War II, where he served in the U.S. Army Air Force.
He returned to the Rams in 1945 and appeared in two games, earning a championship ring when the Rams won the NFL title that year.
In 1946, he played with the Washington Redskins before signing with the Green Bay Packers in 1947, where he was the starting quarterback in 16 games over the next two seasons.
He then played in Canada with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers where he was a three-time CFL All-Star and won the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy in 1952, given to the West Division's Most Valuable Player.
When he completed his career, he was the Western Interprovincial Football Union's all-time leading passer with 11,094 yards and 104 touchdowns. Winnipeg's new football stadium built in 1953 was nicknamed "The House That Jack Built".
Jacobs went on to coach several years in the CFL, including as head coach of the London Lords.
In 1963, Jacobs was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977, Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2004.
In 2026, USA Today named Jacobs one of the top ten high school players in Oklahoma history.
After his football career, Jacobs moved to North Carolina. He passed away there in 1974 at the age of 54 and was laid to rest back in Oklahoma at Fort Gibson National Cemetery.