Harry Edwards Jacobs (February 4, 1937 – December 17, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. The ...

. He played professionally in the AFL for the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

from 1960 through 1962, and for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

from 1963 through 1969. He then played in the NFL for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

from 1970 to 1973.

Professional career

Jacobs played in the playoffs four straight years (1963–1966) with the Bills, and was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

in 1965 and 1969. With

John Tracey John Joseph Tracey (June 27, 1933 – September 21, 1978) was an American football linebacker. At Texas A&M University, Tracey held school records for most receptions and most yards receiving. Another " NFL Reject", when he joined the Ameri ...

and

Mike Stratton David Michael Stratton (April 10, 1941 – March 25, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He won two AFL championships ...

he filled out one of pro football's best linebacking units, which played together for 62 consecutive games from 1963 through 1967, and wreaked havoc on many offensive lines, a

professional football In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

record. They helped the Bills' formidable front four hold opposing teams without a 100-yard rusher for seventeen consecutive games in 1964 and 1965, and achieved American Football League championships in both those years. He is one of only twenty players who played in the American Football League throughout its ten-year existence.

Personal life

Jacobs died in a nursing home on December 17, 2021, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Harry 1937 births 2021 deaths American football linebackers Bradley Braves football players Boston Patriots players Buffalo Bills players New Orleans Saints players American Football League All-Star players People from Canton, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American Football League players

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References