Jack Cobb
American basketball player (1904–1966)
title: "Jack Cobb" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1904-births", "1966-deaths", "all-american-college-men's-basketball-players", "american-men's-basketball-players", "basketball-players-from-durham,-north-carolina", "forwards-(basketball)", "north-carolina-tar-heels-men's-basketball-players", "sportspeople-from-greenville,-north-carolina", "woodberry-forest-school-alumni", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American basketball player (1904–1966)" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Cobb" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American basketball player (1904–1966) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox basketball biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Jack Cobb |
| image | Jack Cobb (1924).jpg |
| image_size | 180px |
| position | Forward |
| height_ft | 6 |
| height_in | 2 |
| weight_lb | 175 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Greenville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| high_school | Woodberry Forest (Woodberry Forest, Virginia) |
| college | North Carolina (1923–1926) |
| :: |
| 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_place = Durham, North Carolina, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Greenville, North Carolina, U.S. | 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
- NC Sports Hall of Fame 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. The Cobbs were of English ancestry and Orrs of Scottish ancestry.
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. 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", used 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. He averaged 13.6 points a game, then an incredible stat. 6' 2" was also a large size for a player in his day.
Cobb went on to play for three straight Southern Conference titles (1924, 1925, 1926). He was also, the first 3-time All-America selection in North Carolina history. Cobb was captain in 1925. Cobb was named national player of the year for 1926 by the Helms Athletic Foundation.
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
References
- [https://www.opendurham.org/people/cobb-james-s James S. Cobb]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=k0Q4AQAAMAAJ History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, by special staff of writers] p. 33
- Rappoport, Ken. (May 1, 2012). "Tales from the North Carolina Tar Heels Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest UNC Basketball Stories Ever Told". Skyhorse Publishing, Inc..
- (October 15, 2010). "Carolina Basketball: A Century of Excellence". Univ of North Carolina Press.
- (November 19, 1992). "U.N.C. basketball blue book". Chapel Hill, N.C. : Sports Division, University News Bureau..
- "North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame - Jack Cobb".
- Houston, Bartow. (March 15, 2016). "Stepping Up: My Take: Jack Spratt & the Dixie Flyer".
- (August 2013). "North Carolina Tar Heels". ABDO Publishing Company.
- "Tarheelblue.com Media Guide".
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