Bill Played as A tight end and DL For the Buckeyes, starting in 1975.
Toledo Blade
Grasp of life rooted in East Toledo
3-sport Knight star excelled for the Buckeyes and NFL's Oilers
Bill Jaco says he and his wife, Joan, are planning to return to Toledo in the near future to live for a portion of the year. Jaco was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years ago.
In Their Words is a weekly feature appearing Sundays in The Blade's sports section. Blade sports writer Steve Junga talked with Bill Jaco, who played three sports at St. Francis de Sales and then starred in football at Ohio State University.
It has been 33 years since Bill Jaco lived in Toledo, but his memories of growing up on the city's east side, excelling in three sports at St. Francis de Sales, and sharing great times with friends remain close to his heart.
Close enough that he and his wife of 26 years, Joan, are considering living here for a portion of the year within a few years. They have been in Houston since Bill's brief NFL stint with the Oilers ended in 1981.
Jaco, 51, made his mark in football, basketball, and baseball for the Knights. As a 6-foot-5, 235-pound senior with 4.7 speed in the 40-yard dash, the tight end/defensive end was recruited by 65 colleges.
Although Jaco grew up on the east side and wanted to attend Cardinal Stritch with many of his friends, his father, William, Sr. steered him to St. Francis instead. He started three years on the Knight football teams of coach Joe Sevenich, twice earning first-team All-City honors. He also played two years of varsity basketball for coach Jim Robinson, and spent two years as a first baseman/pitcher on the varsity baseball team coached by Don Kober. St. Francis reached the Class AAA state baseball semifinals in 1974, and Jaco led the basketball team in scoring and rebounding as a senior.
Jaco accepted a football scholarship from Ohio State University.
He did not letter as a freshman in 1975, but practiced daily with an OSU squad led by two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin. That team was 11-0 and ranked No. 1 before losing to UCLA in the Rose Bowl, the first of five bowl trips for Jaco.
Jaco earned his first starts at tight end as a sophomore in 1976, then became the full-time starter at that spot in 1977.
Bill Jaco, in 1973
Toledo Blade
Grasp of life rooted in East Toledo
3-sport Knight star excelled for the Buckeyes and NFL's Oilers
In Their Words is a weekly feature appearing Sundays in The Blade's sports section. Blade sports writer Steve Junga talked with Bill Jaco, who played three sports at St. Francis de Sales and then starred in football at Ohio State University.
It has been 33 years since Bill Jaco lived in Toledo, but his memories of growing up on the city's east side, excelling in three sports at St. Francis de Sales, and sharing great times with friends remain close to his heart.
Close enough that he and his wife of 26 years, Joan, are considering living here for a portion of the year within a few years. They have been in Houston since Bill's brief NFL stint with the Oilers ended in 1981.
Jaco, 51, made his mark in football, basketball, and baseball for the Knights. As a 6-foot-5, 235-pound senior with 4.7 speed in the 40-yard dash, the tight end/defensive end was recruited by 65 colleges.
Although Jaco grew up on the east side and wanted to attend Cardinal Stritch with many of his friends, his father, William, Sr. steered him to St. Francis instead. He started three years on the Knight football teams of coach Joe Sevenich, twice earning first-team All-City honors. He also played two years of varsity basketball for coach Jim Robinson, and spent two years as a first baseman/pitcher on the varsity baseball team coached by Don Kober. St. Francis reached the Class AAA state baseball semifinals in 1974, and Jaco led the basketball team in scoring and rebounding as a senior.
Jaco accepted a football scholarship from Ohio State University.
He did not letter as a freshman in 1975, but practiced daily with an OSU squad led by two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin. That team was 11-0 and ranked No. 1 before losing to UCLA in the Rose Bowl, the first of five bowl trips for Jaco.
Jaco earned his first starts at tight end as a sophomore in 1976, then became the full-time starter at that spot in 1977.