Forrest Vandergrift "Spook" Jacobs was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1954 through 1956 for the Philadelphia Athletics (1954), Kansas City Athletics (1955-'56), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1956). Listed at 5'9", 155 lb., he batted and threw right handed.(November 4, 1925 – February 18, 2011)
Baseball career
Born Forrest Vandergrift Jacobs in Cheswold, Delaware, he graduated from Salem High School, Salem, New Jersey in 1943. Immediately after graduation, Jacobs enlisted in the United States Army where he served as a Sergeant during World War II. Following his military discharge, he played professional baseball for 17 seasons, three of them in the majors, while playing for several minor league clubs and in Cuba and Panama winter leagues.[1]Jacobs posted a .247 average and a .971 fielding percentage in his major league career, stealing 22 bases, 17 of them in 1954.[2] His build reminded some of Nellie Fox.[3]
On April 13, 1954, Jacobs became one of only three players in major league history to go 4-for-4 in his major league debut, the others being Delino DeShields and Willie McCovey.[2] Jacobs was a pesky hitter who reached base by slapping balls through the infield, and gained his ghostly nickname from his tendency to dump hits just over the heads of opposing infielders.[4] A baseball writer gave Jacobs the nickname in 1947 when he was playing with Johnstown, Pennsylvania, club, the Johnnies, of the Middle Atlantic League.[5] Casey Stengel once said of him, "He's always been in our hair."[3]
Jacobs was a farmhand of the Brooklyn Dodgers for eight years before becoming the property of the Philadelphia Athletics. The Dodgers had vast minor league holdings in 1954, and loaded a number of their prospects on the roster of a single club. Under the rules of the time, only one selected player could be lost to a team per draft period. Jacobs was never called up to the Dodgers' top farm club, the Montreal Royals, because of their surplus of players. On one occasion, he was passed over when Brooklyn picked Junior Gilliam. Clyde Sukeforth hinted that the Pittsburgh Pirates might have an interest in drafting Jacobs, but the team chose Danny Lynch instead. Philadelphia manager Eddie Joost was particularly impressed by Jacobs' fielding and his hit and run capability.[6]
On April 20, 1954, Jacobs' fourth inning triple, followed by an error on a fly ball hit by Vic Power, gave Philadelphia a 5-0 lead over the Washington Senators.[7] On May 3, 1954, Chicago White Sox right-hander, Sandy Consuegra, retired the first 19 Athletics' hitters before Jacobs doubled in the seventh inning with one man out. Consuegra retired the next five hitters prior to encountering trouble in the ninth. Then Jacobs bunted successfully, and Consuegra threw wildly into right field, allowing two runs to score. Chicago beat Philadelphia 14-3 at Connie Mack Stadium, with Jacobs collecting the only two hits for the losers.[8]
Jacobs was involved in a fracas while playing for the Columbus Jets in July 1955. Lou Limmer of the Toronto Maple Leafs slid into him at second base, knocking Jacobs head over heels. Jacobs was thrown out of the International League game in the fourth inning for throwing a punch in retaliation.[9] A sore arm led to his demotion to Columbus. His arm recovered and Jacobs was selected as the outstanding International League second baseman in 1955, batting .316.[3]
During 1956 spring training, Jacobs competed with Jim Finigan for the starting second baseman job for the Kansas City Athletics. Finigan was considered a more powerful hitter, but Jacobs was a faster player.[3] He was optioned to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League by the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 4, 1956.[10] Jacobs was among 14 players recalled by the Pirates in September 1956.[11]
Jacobs was injured when he collided with Hollywood shortstop, Dick Smith, during a game in the Pacific Coast League. Both players were chasing a fly ball in a game against the San Diego Padres (April 11, 1957), and Jacobs was thought to have suffered a hairline skull fracture after being carried from the field on a stretcher.[12][13] He recovered and returned to the Stars' lineup on May 7.[14]
Tommy Lasorda and Jacobs were teammates on the 1956 Athletics. While pitching for the Los Angeles Angels (PCL), Lasorda deliberately hit Jacobs in the fifth inning of an August 1957 game. The knockdown came after relief pitcher, Fred Waters, hit a 400-foot home run which broke a 4-4 tie. Jacobs charged Lasorda and then went after his rival second baseman, Sparky Anderson. Hollywood went on to score seven runs in the fifth inning to gain an 11-4 win at Gilmore Field.
Later life
After his baseball career ended, Jacobs and his wife Bobbie settled in Milford, Delaware, where they owned and operated the Milford Bus Center, then Mr. Donut/Donut Connection, over a span of 42 years before retiring.[1][15]The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame inducted Jacobs in 1991. He also became a member of six Sports Hall of Fames - Delaware Baseball, Columbus Ohio, Cuban Baseball, Eastern Shore, Delaware, South Jersey and Salem County, New Jersey.[1]
One of his proudest achievements was when his personal stamp collection was featured in 2008 at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.[1]
Jacobs died at the Delaware Hospice Center in Milford, Delaware, on February 18, 2011, at the age of 85.[1]
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