At Mobile (Southern League) in 1912, the grandstand band played “Oh, You Beautiful Doll” after Jacobson’s Opening Day homer, and the next day’s paper captioned his photo, “Baby Doll.” After a decade in the minors, he spent 1917 in the majors, served a year in the military, and returned as a Browns’ regular at 28. The best of Jacobson’s ML career was contained in seven straight years over .300 (1919-25), five of them with Ken Williams and Jack Tobin flanking him in the Browns’ best-remembered outfield. A burly righthander who swung a light bat, he hit well for average, if not for power. For all his heft (at 6’3″ and 215-lb, he was the league’s biggest man), he was also a capable fielder. At one time he held 13 fielding marks; his 484 putouts in 1924 stood as a record for 24 years. In 1927 he played seven consecutive games for the Red Sox without a putout or assist.
