David Arthur Jacobs (born in 1946) is an American

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that use ...

and

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

. He is a three-time

Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships The Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for trampoline gymnastics including double mini trampoline and tumbling. They were originally held annually from 1964–1968. The frequency was switched to biennially from ...

gold medalist and the NCAA men's gymnastics champion on the floor exercise (1967) and trampoline (1967 and 1969). He was inducted into the World Acrobatics Society (WAS) Hall of Fame in 2009 and later served as the president from 2015 to 2019. In September 2024, Jacobs received the Charlie Pond Service Award from the WAS.

Early life and education

Jacobs was born in 1946 in

Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, which has a pop ...

, to Careta (). The family moved to

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, in 1957, and moved back to Sheboygan in 1965. In 1962 while a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

in high school, he joined Nard's trampoline club in Texas. Jacobs was a student at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Gymnastics career

In 1964, he competed at the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) championships and finished third. While there, he began a working relationship with Eddie Cole. At the

1966 Trampoline World Championships The 3rd Trampoline World Championships were held in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States from April 29 to April 30, 1966. Medal summary Results Men Trampoline Trampoline Synchro Tumbling Women Trampoline Trampoline Sync ...

(TWC), he won the synchronized trampoline title with fellow Michigan student Wayne Miller. While Jacobs was at the University of Michigan, he competed for the

Michigan Wolverines men's gymnastics The Michigan Wolverines men's gymnastics team represents the University of Michigan and competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines have won seven NCAA championships, 21 Big Ten championships and have been invited to 32 NCAA tournaments. ...

team from 1967 to 1969. He was the NCAA champion in the floor exercise and trampoline at the 1967 NCAA gymnastics championships. He won a further NCAA title for trampoline in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

en route to being a finalist for the

Nissen-Emery Award The Nissen-Emery Award is presented to the most outstanding senior male collegiate gymnast in the United States. The award reflects admirable scholarship, moral characteristics, and sporting success. List of winners Total wins by school See a ...

Personal life

Jacobs was the father of David Jacobs, who created one of the largest steroid and

growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

operations in the United States and led to "...one of the largest trafficking investigations of its kind in the nation's history..." Authorities determined Jacobs' son was the perpetrator of a

murder–suicide A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...

discovered on June 5, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, David Living people American male trampolinists American male artistic gymnasts Medalists at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships Sportspeople from Sheboygan, Wisconsin Michigan Wolverines men's gymnasts 20th-century American sportsmen 1946 births