Sigmund Jakucki (August 20, 1909 – May 28, 1979), nicknamed "Sig" or "Jack", was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who appeared in 72 games over all or part of three seasons ( and –) for the St. Louis Browns. He is best known for defeating the New York Yankees, 5–2, in the final game of the 1944 regular season to clinch the American League (AL) pennant for the Browns, their only AL championship. A hard-throwing right-hander, he was listed as tall and .
A Camden, New Jersey, native, Jakucki relocated to Galveston, Texas, in 1934. Formerly a shortstop and outfielder, it was in Galveston where he became primarily a pitcher. He first pitched with the Browns in 1936 but failed to make their roster in 1937 and stopped playing professionally after 1938. However, due to a shortage of available players during World War II, the Browns sent him a letter inviting him to 1944 spring training. He made the roster and threw four shutouts as the Browns bested the Detroit Tigers in the pennant race. He started Game 4 of the 1944 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals but took the loss, as the Cardinals ultimately won the series in six games. Jakucki was the Opening Day starter for the Browns in 1945 but was suspended from the team in September after showing up drunk to a team train ride. He pitched two more seasons in the minor leagues, then returned to Galveston, where he spent the rest of his life. He was well known for his penchant for alcohol, as well as his combative nature.
Early life Sigmund "Jack" Jakucki was born on August 20, 1909, in Camden, New Jersey, the son of blacksmith John Jakucki and his wife, Johanna. Both were Polish immigrants who attended St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Sig had one older brother (Henry) and two younger siblings (Theodore and Florentina). They grew up in Liberty Park, a mainly Polish neighborhood. The Jakuckis had little money, and Sig stopped attending school after the seventh grade to work odd jobs. He started playing baseball as a shortstop and outfielder for his church's team, which competed against local semipro teams.
In 1927, Jakucki joined the United States Army and spent most of the next four years at the Schofield Army Barracks in Honolulu, Hawaii, serving with the 11th Field Artillery. Continuing to play baseball with his regiment's team, Jakucki established a reputation as one of his team's best hitters. He was discharged from the Army in 1931 before finishing his second tour of duty with them. Officially, the discharge was for medical reasons, but a local baseball promoter may have helped attain the early release. Jakucki joined the semipro Honolulu Braves, still playing shortstop and outfield but now occasionally pitching. This brought him exposure to Major League Baseball (MLB) personnel when the Braves played an all-star team consisting of several MLB regulars. Against a Japanese team in Tokyo, he reportedly hit three home runs in a game.W.J. McGoogan, “Jakucki, Who Had Trial with Club in 1937, Says He’ll Win 12 or 15 Games,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1944 [no date] Jakucki played with another Honolulu semipro team called Asahi, even though the club was primarily for Hawaiians with Japanese ancestry.
Professional career First stop: The Oakland Oaks (1934) After Jakucki attracted the attention of Bill Inman, a scout for the San Francisco Seals of the Class AA Pacific Coast League (PCL), the ballplayer journeyed to California to try out for the team. San Francisco signed him but was unimpressed with how he fared against their pitchers during spring training, and his contract was sold to the Oakland Oaks before the season. He batted just .202 in 84 at bats before his contract was sold again, this time to the Galveston Buccaneers of the Class A Texas League.
Welcome to Galveston (1934–1936) At Galveston, manager Bill Webb decided Jakucki was better suited as a pitcher. "I guess being sent to Galveston was a good break for me. I could play shortstop or in the outfield good enough to stand out in Hawaii ... I could hit that kind of competition, but when I got into Class AA or A ball, well, you had to have more to get by," Jakucki later reflected.The Sporting News, June 22, 1944. 3. In 28 games, he had a 10–7 record and a 3.20 earned run average (ERA) in 138 innings pitched.
During the 1935 season, Jakucki hit Johnny Keane in the head with a pitch, putting the prospect in the hospital for a week with a coma. He went 15–14 for Galveston, with a 3.45 ERA. Control was not Jakucki's strong point, as he walked 117 hitters in 279 innings.
Against the Houston Buffaloes in June 1936, Jakucki demonstrated his temper. Following persistent teasing by Buffaloes fans, Jakucki and manager/teammate Jack Mealey charged into the stands and began punching the spectators. Both were suspended indefinitely, though Jakucki returned to the club a week later.The Sporting News, June 4, 1936, 1. On July 16, he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against the Oklahoma City Indians. The fine outing caught the attention of major league scouts, and the St. Louis Browns acquired his rights on August 18. Though his overall numbers with Galveston were not great, he pitched his best the final six weeks of the season. He had a 10–19 record (ranking third in the Texas League in losses, behind Beryl Richmond's 21 and Harold Hillin's 20), a 4.22 ERA, and 111 walks in 237 innings pitched.
Major league debut (1936) With the Browns, Jakucki made his debut in the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators on August 30. Pitching six innings, he allowed only four hits but walked seven batters, surrendering five runs (four earned) and taking the loss in a 7–4 defeat. Jakucki started only one more game for the Browns all season but did appear in five others as a relief pitcher. He pitched poorly for the Browns, going 0–3 with an 8.71 ERA in 20 innings pitched.
Back to the minors, years off (1937–1943) Jakucki attended spring training with the Browns in 1937 but was optioned to Galveston (now a Class A1 franchise) before the season. Instead of reporting, he went missing for several days. When he finally did report, he struggled, going 3–6 with a 5.70 ERA in 12 games (10 starts). The Buccaneers sold his contract to the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class A1 Southern Association, where he had much more success. In 24 games (18 starts), he had a 12–6 record, ranking third in the league with a 2.75 ERA. While attending a wrestling match in Atlanta, he and teammate Euel Moore took part in the fighting. According to Arthur Daley of The New York Times, Jakucki "flattened" the referee, also taking on the spectators and the contestants before getting arrested.Arthur Daley, “Sports of the Times,” The New York Times, October 8, 1944, J8. Team owner Larry Gilbert waited a few days before bailing him out of jail, then traded Jakucki to the PCL's Los Angeles Angels.
With the Angels, Jakucki only appeared in six games before getting sent to the Texas League's Shreveport Sports. He only pitched in three games for the Sports before leaving the team, coming back to Galveston, where he had lived since 1934. For the next several years, he worked as a paperhanger and painter, also laboring in shipyards and pitching for various semi-pro teams. He participated in the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series in Wichita, Kansas, in 1940 as the star pitcher on a Houston team. In 1941, he was disqualified from the tournament because he had signed contracts with two teams. He took the loss in a 2–1 decision in the 1942 tournament, then drunkenly confronted the home plate umpire, holding him over the edge of a bridge before police officers had to brandish guns to arrest him. NBC president Ray Dumont called Jakucki the organization's "most persistent problem child", yet Jakucki was elected to the NBC Hall of Fame in 1942.
Surprise return to the Browns (1944–1945) The return During World War II, the Browns ran short of players and wrote Jakucki a letter inviting him to 1944 spring training. Impressing with his fastball, he made their roster.The Sporting News, March 30, 1944, 7. Making his first MLB appearance in eight years on April 20, he pitched a complete game, defeating the Detroit Tigers 8–5 for his first MLB win. He made some relief appearances in May but was mostly used as a starter thereafter. Against the Tigers in consecutive starts on June 17 and 23, he threw shutouts. After losing his next start 1–0 to the New York Yankees on June 29, he shutout the Philadelphia Athletics in the first game of a July 4 doubleheader. Buoyed by strong pitching, the historically terrible Browns found themselves unexpected contenders for the American League pennant. "Finding Jakucki was a tremendous break. It looks like he might have made the difference between success and failure," stated The Sporting News on August 17.The Sporting News, August 17, 1944, 7. He held the Red Sox to five hits in a 1–0 victory over them on September 26, his fourth shutout of the year, which kept St. Louis tied with Detroit for the AL lead. Entering the final day of the season (October 1), the teams were still tied; contemporary sportswriter John Drebinger called it the "most dramatic finish any championship campaign has ever seen".John Drebinger, “Browns Win Flag; Halt Yankees, 5–2,” The New York Times, October 2, 1944, 14.
Pennant-clinching game Browns manager Luke Sewell picked Jakucki to start the team's final game. Knowing his penchant for alcohol, his teammates pleaded for him not to drink the night before so he would be sharp for the game. "I went to bed at 6 in the morning and the game didn’t start until 1:30," Jakucki recalled. "I was there." Facing the Yankees in front of 35,518 fans, the most in Sportsmans Park history, Jakucki pitched a six-hit, complete game in which he allowed only two runs (one earned). He got the win, and the Tigers lost their game, giving the Browns the pennant. "Drunk or not, Big Sig was competitive," observed Bob Broeg, a sports reporter in St. Louis for many years. In 35 games (24 starts), he had a 13–9 record, a 3.55 ERA, 67 strikeouts, 54 walks, and 211 hits allowed in 198 innings pitched.
1944 World Series In the 1944 World Series, Jakucki started Game 4 on October 7, with his underdog Browns leading two games to one. But he allowed a first-inning, two-run home run to Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, permitted four runs (three earned), and lasted only three full innings. The Cardinals won the game, 5–1. That was Jakucki's only outing of the series, as the Cardinals went on to take the next two contests to deny the Browns a world championship.
Opening Day starter The Opening Day starter for the Browns in 1945, Jakucki held the Tigers to six hits in a 7–1 victory. Facing the Athletics on June 1, he threw a shutout in a 4–0 victory. He won six decisions in a row before the All-Star break. On June 20, he played a role in one of baseball's most violent brawls. Tired of listening to verbal abuse from Chicago White Sox batting practice pitcher Karl Scheel, Jakucki and several other teammates charged into his dugout and beat him up. However, Jakucki was not suspended.The Sporting News, July 5, 1945, 5.
Kicked off the team