Jack Cobb
{{Short description|American basketball player (1904–1966)}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Jack Cobb
| image = Jack Cobb (1924).jpg
| image_size = 180px
| caption =
| position = Forward
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 175
| birth_date = {{birth date|1904|8|4}}
| birth_place = Durham, North Carolina
| death_date = {{death date and age|1966|9|9|1904|8|4}}
| death_place = Greenville, North Carolina
| nationality = American
| high_school = Woodberry Forest
(Woodberry Forest, Virginia)
| college = North Carolina (1923–1926)
| highlights =
- 3× Consensus All-American (1924–1926)
- 3× All-Southern (1924–1926)
- National player of the year (1926)
- Helms national champion (1924)
- Jersey retired by North Carolina Tar Heels
}}
John Blackwell "Sprat" Cobb (August 4, 1904 – September 9, 1966) was an American college basketball player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Cobb is one of eight Tar Heels basketball players who have had their jersey retired, and was nicknamed "Mr. Basketball".
Early life
John Blackwell Cobb was born on August 4, 1904, in Durham, North Carolina, to Venable Tobacco Company executive James S. Cobb and Nannie Orr.[https://www.opendurham.org/people/cobb-james-s James S. Cobb] The Cobbs were of English ancestry and Orrs of Scottish ancestry.[https://books.google.com/books?id=k0Q4AQAAMAAJ History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, by special staff of writers] p. 33
=University of North Carolina=
Cobb was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Cobb and Cartwright Carmichael led the Tar Heels to their first undefeated season in 1924. Cobb went on to play for three straight Southern Conference titles (1924, 1925, 1926).{{cite web|url=http://www.ncshof.org/inductees_detail.php?i_recid=37|title=North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame - Jack Cobb|access-date=April 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127081302/http://ncshof.org/inductees_detail.php?i_recid=37|archive-date=November 27, 2010|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |last=Houston |first=Bartow |date=March 15, 2016 |title=Stepping Up: My Take: Jack Spratt & the Dixie Flyer |url=https://thewashingtondailynews.com/2016/03/15/stepping-up-my-take-jack-spratt-the-dixie-flyer/ |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=Washington Daily News}} He was also the first 3-time All-America selection in North Carolina history.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ESd4AgAAQBAJ|isbn = 9781614787259|title = North Carolina Tar Heels|date = August 2013|publisher = ABDO Publishing Company}} Cobb was named national player of the year for 1926 by the Helms Athletic Foundation.{{cite web|url=http://graphics.fansonly.com/schools/unc/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/History-8.PDF|title=Tarheelblue.com Media Guide}} The 1924 team was retroactively named national champion by the Helms Foundation in 1936. Their fast play and defense earned them the nickname the "White Phantoms", use as an alternative nickname for the Tar Heels into the 1940s.
After defeating Alabama in the Southern Conference tournament, some 500 students marched to Cobb's house in Durham and woke up the household with fight songs.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GcJeY9gGq0C|title=Tales from the North Carolina Tar Heels Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest UNC Basketball Stories Ever Told|first=Ken|last=Rappoport|date=May 1, 2012|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.|isbn=9781613212882|via=Google Books}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=978kcjN9CwUC|isbn=9780807899687|title=Carolina Basketball: A Century of Excellence|date=October 15, 2010|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press}} He averaged 15 points a game, then an incredible stat.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/uncbasketballblu19921993|title=U.N.C. basketball blue book|date=November 19, 1992|publisher=Chapel Hill, N.C. : Sports Division, University News Bureau.|via=Internet Archive}} 6' 2" was also a large size for a player in his day.
Later life
Cobb's dreams of pursuing a coaching career were dashed when he had a motorcycle accident in 1929 and lost part of his lower right leg. Cobb did continue to coach Little League Baseball teams throughout much of his life.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|125867819}}
{{navboxes|list=
{{1924 Helms Foundation NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans}}
{{1925 Helms Foundation NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans}}
{{1926 Helms Foundation NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans}}
{{Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobb, Jack}}
Category:All-American college men's basketball players
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Durham, North Carolina
Category:Forwards (basketball)
Category:North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players