| Nationality: | American |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | High jump |
| Birth Date: | 31 December 1957 |
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Franklin Jacobs (born December 31, 1957[1]) is a former high jumper from the United States. His personal best of 2.32sp=usNaNsp=us was a world indoor record in 1978, and at 59cm (23inches) above Jacobs' own height of 1.73sp=usNaNsp=us,[2] it remains the record for height differential, now held jointly with Stefan Holm.[3]
Jacobs was one of ten children of Jannie Jacobs, living in a shack in Mullins, South Carolina. His parents separated when he was young. The impoverished family moved to Paterson, New Jersey when he was three and lived with four cousins.[4] His first love was basketball, and he played for Paterson East-side High.[4] He only started high jumping in his senior year, after the end of the basketball season.[4] He cleared 6feet that year.[4] His natural talent overcame his lack of technique: he called his style the "Jacobs Slop", as opposed to the Fosbury Flop;[5] but later renamed it the "Slope", from the trajectory of his launch.[6]
Jacobs barely graduated high school and got no athletic scholarship, but enrolled at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey with a federal grant.[4] He cleared 7feet in his freshman year.[4] In March 1977 he tore cartilage in his right leg playing basketball, but competed for over a year without surgery.[7] He established a rivalry with Dwight Stones over the next two years,[4] with media emphasizing the contrast between Jacobs, a short inner-city African American, and Stones, a tall blond Californian.[8] Stones antagonized Jacobs by criticizing his unorthodox jumping style.[7] Jacobs beat Stones at the 1978 Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden, at which he set a world indoor record of 2.32sp=usNaNsp=us.[5] He waived his right to try for an even higher record, saying he "didn't feel nervous enough".[5] Two months later, Vladimir Yashchenko broke the record in Milan.[9] In July, at a highly publicized international between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Jacobs lost to Yashchenko on countback.[10] In August, Jacobs won the Tanqueray Award for outstanding amateur athlete; by then he had won 27 collegiate events.[11]
Jacobs anticipated gaining lucrative endorsements from the 1980 Olympics, but the U.S. boycott of the Games precluded this.[8] He was extremely disappointed and wanted to skip the U.S. "Olympic Trials"; he attended by request of his college, but failed his opening height.[2] He gave up the high jump and did not return to college.[8] A planned return to competition in 1982[12] did not happen.[2] In 1991, he commented, "I was upset and my dreams were shattered. I probably could have come back in 1984, but I was a naive kid. It was like the floor fell in."[13]
He subsequently had various jobs around Paterson,[2] [8] working for a construction company 1986–91.[13] He married Naomi Livingston c.1990 and had a daughter Shannon in 1992.[2] [8] Around 1995, they moved to Gilbert, Arizona.[2] In 1998 he was working for an electrical installation company.[2] [8] That year, he attended a Millrose Games tribute to stars of memorable previous meets.[2]
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Result | Height (m) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | NCAA Outdoor | Champaign, Illinois | 2nd | 2.26[14] | |
| 1977 | US Nationals | Los Angeles, California | 2nd | 2.27 | |
| 1978 | NCAA Indoor | Detroit, Michigan | 1st | 2.25[15] [16] | |
| 1978 | NCAA Outdoor | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 2.26[17] | |
| 1978 | US Nationals | Los Angeles, California | 2nd | 2.24 | |
| 1979 | US Nationals | Walnut, California | 1st | 2.26[18] [19] | |
| 1979 | Pan American Games | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 1st | 2.26 | |
| 1979 | World Cup | Montreal, Canada | 1st | 2.27 | |
| 1980 | NCAA Indoor | Detroit, Michigan | 1st | 2.24 | |
| 1980 | US Indoor Nationals | New York City[20] | 1st | 2.24[21] [22] | |
| 1980 | US Nationals | Walnut, California | 1st | 2.24 |