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Forrest Vandergrift Jacobs
Kansas City Athletics
Second Base
Born: November 4, 1925, Cheswold, DE
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Athletics 1954; Kansas City Athletics 1955-1956; Pittsburgh Pirates 1956
Died: February 18, 2011, Milford, DE (age 85)
Prior to his baseball career, Spook Jacobs served in the U.S. Army during World War II, rose to the rank of sergeant and was awarded several prestigious medals for his service. Jacobs played 14 seasons professionally stateside, and enjoyed his longest stint in the majors with 132 games for the 1954 Athletics in their final season in Philadelphia. As the club's regular second baseman that season, he batted .258 with a career-high 26 RBIs. Jacobs followed the Athletics to Kansas City where he was used sparingly in 1955 as a back-up second baseman or pinch-hitter. Dealt to the Pirates in June 1956, he played his final 11 big league games in Pittsburgh. In 188 games, Jacobs batted .247 with 33 RBIs.
Jacobs found his most success as a standout in the Cuban, Panamanian and Puerto Rican winter leagues. He won two batting titles in Panama and helped the Carta Vieja Yankees to its only Caribbean World Series title in 1950. He played a similar key role during the 1952-1953 season with the Azules de Almandares, contributing a game-winning walk-off hit during the Cuban championship series. Jacobs was elected into both the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame and the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame, and to date he's the only American so honored.
Building the Set
June 22, 1993 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #112
Like the Bill Tremel (#96) card, this card is fairly beat up and there's no way my Dad was with me when this was purchased from Only Yesterday on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. My Dad would have rejected this card outright for our set given its condition. Having gone through the first 150 cards from our set for this blog, I can honestly say this card is in the worst shape of any of them. This Jacobs card was purchased along with the cards for Tremel and Dick Brodowski (#157) for $10. Up until a few years ago, Only Yesterday was located on the Ocean City boardwalk and it was one of the few stops that was a must-visit for me whenever I'd walk the boards. (The others being, and still being, Shriver's, Johnson's Popcorn, Manco & Manco's and the Surf Mall.)
June 22, 1993 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #112
Like the Bill Tremel (#96) card, this card is fairly beat up and there's no way my Dad was with me when this was purchased from Only Yesterday on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. My Dad would have rejected this card outright for our set given its condition. Having gone through the first 150 cards from our set for this blog, I can honestly say this card is in the worst shape of any of them. This Jacobs card was purchased along with the cards for Tremel and Dick Brodowski (#157) for $10. Up until a few years ago, Only Yesterday was located on the Ocean City boardwalk and it was one of the few stops that was a must-visit for me whenever I'd walk the boards. (The others being, and still being, Shriver's, Johnson's Popcorn, Manco & Manco's and the Surf Mall.)
I missed a chunk of my spring semester of my freshman year of college due to a bad bout of mono. In the summer of 1993, after that freshman year, I was back at home. June 22nd would have been a Tuesday, so that's a strange day to be visiting the Ocean City boardwalk given I would have had a summer job somewhere.
The Card / Athletics Team Set
I believe that's Tigers' catcher Frank House (#32) making a cameo appearance in the action shot and I think the play happened on April 16, 1955 in that game's first inning. House wore #2 for the Tigers. Jacobs had beat out an infield hit to lead-off the game and eventually came in to score on a Gus Zernial (#45) double play ball. He's safe at the plate, but the Tigers would go on to win the ballgame, 8-3.
Jacobs only appears on three Topps cards, and all three cards use the exact same portrait photo. His speed, both on the basepaths and as a defender, are highlighted in the cartoon panels on the back of the card. This card was reprinted for Jacobs to autograph as part of the 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.
1956 Season
Phillies Connection
In his final professional season as a player, and now 34 years old, Jacobs was a player-manager for the 1960 Chattanooga Lookouts in the Southern Association. At the time, that was the Phillies' Double-A affiliate and Jacobs guided the team to a 60-93 record. He appeared in 125 games as the team's regular second baseman and batted .306. It was his only season managing the Lookouts as future Phillies manager Frank Lucchesi would take over the team in 1961.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #129
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1954-1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2009 TriStar Obak #48
22 - Jacobs non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
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First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #129
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1954-1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2009 TriStar Obak #48
22 - Jacobs non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
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