James Mark Jaquith, sometimes spelled Jacquith (April 11, 1898 – July 5, 1960) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player who played at the back and placekicker positions. Jaquith was born on April 11, 1898, in

Council Grove, Kansas Council Grove is a city and county seat in Morris County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,140. It was named after an agreement between American settlers and the Osage Nation allowing settlers' wa ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, enlisting on May 7, 1917, and receiving his discharge on April 29, 1919.U.S Headstone Application for James Mark Jaquith, born April 11, 1898, died July 5, 1960. He attended

Emporia College Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...

where he played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the football team. He led the 1921 Emporia team to the Kansas Conference championship and was selected as the quarterback on the all-Kansas football team. He was also a placekicker. After leaving Emporia, Jaquith was an assistant coach for the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in 1923. He played football in 1925 with George Wilson's Pacific Coast team. In September 1926, he signed with the

Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated ...

of the

American Professional Football League The American Professional Football League (APFL) was an indoor football league that was founded in 2003. After the 2012 season, most of the teams left to start the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. The league consisted of profes ...

(AFL). He was released by Rock Island in early October 1926. He also played one game during the 1926 season for the

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...

of the

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 was one of two "Fighting Presbies" to ever make it to the NFL. At the time of the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses, Jaquith was living in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. In 1930, he was employed as an attendant at a gas plant. In 1940, he was a supervisor in government work. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he lived in Fresno and was employed by the State of California in the surplus commodities program.World War II draft registration card for James Mark Jaquith, born April 11, 1899, in Council Grove, Kansas. Jaquith died on July 5, 1960, in

Shasta County, California Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a County (United States), county in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 c ...

, at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacquith, Jim 1898 births 1960 deaths Kansas City Cowboys (NFL) players Rock Island Independents players Missouri Tigers football coaches American football quarterbacks Players of American football from Kansas People from Council Grove, Kansas