Jack Jacobs was from Oklahoma, played college football at the University of Oklahoma as the starting quarterback and a defensive back where he holds a lot of the school’s records. In the NFL, he played as a quarterback, defensive back, halfback, tailback, and punter. He was drafted in the second round of the 1942 draft. He came to the Packers in 1947 and played for 3 seasons. In the 3 seasons, he started 17 games as a quarterback, throwing 21 touchdowns, but also had 41 interceptions. While quarterback, Jacobs didn’t like to follow the plays that the coach picked out, he liked to do his own thing.
- Tom Skenandore was from Oneida, who played football at Carlisle Indian School who was coached by Pop Warren. Tom was picked up by Fred Hulbert after two years of struggling with his newly made football team. He was such a renowned athlete that Tom was offered $20 dollars to play for Green Bay’s town team. Skenandore leads the team to a championship in 1897, some say he was a wise investment. Because he was paid, most people say that he was the first professional football player.
Guys in the 1897 backfield are (seated) Fred Hulbert, (standing, from left) Al Vandenberg, Tom Skenandore and Bert Groesbeck. On the back of the photo, written in what is probably Fred Hulbert’s hand, these guys are identified as “the back line.”
