Early career (1958–1959) After the Olympic trials, Jacobs decided to wrestle as a professional and was trained by
The Zebra Kid. He was assisted by
Al Costello, whom he trained with as an amateur, and future tag team partner
Don Curtis. Jacobs made his professional debut against his trainer, the Zebra Kid, in
Hastings in 1958;
Capitol Sports and Jim Crockett Promotions (1958–1965) Three months later, he arrived in the continental United States and spent a year for
Vince McMahon, Sr. in
Capitol Sports, He took on the promotion's top
"heel" NWA United States Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers that same year which saw
Haystacks Calhoun interfere in the match. The match was recorded on
kinescope and, later featured on ''Wrestling's Greatest Villains of the Golden Era'', is one of the oldest surviving matches from that era. Jacobs met Buddy Rogers on eight occasions during his career, the majority for the United States Championship, and at least once for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He later scored victories over Kenny Ackles,
Johnny Valentine,
The Sheik,
"Wild" Bull Curry and
Dr. Jerry Graham. Shortly afterwards, Jacobs began touring in other parts of the United States and in Canada where he won the NWA North American Championship in
North Bay. On 28 February 1961, he wrestled then NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Pat O'Connor at Sunnyside Garden in
Queens, New York. This was not only the first meeting between the two men but was the first time two New Zealanders wrestled for a
championship title in a foreign country. The two wrestled for 55 minutes before Jacobs fell from the ring after missing a flying tackle and injured his shoulder. Jacobs also wrestled in Detroit and Chicago and, while in the latter city, he took part in the first
Comiskey Park show wrestling
"Rubberman" Johnny Walker in front of 36,000 fans. When
Jim Crockett, Sr. was looking for outside talent, Jacobs was recommended by McMahon and brought into
Jim Crockett Promotions in early 1961. His first run in the territory lasted a year and a half during which time he wrestled
Swede Hanson and teamed with George Becker and
Haystack Calhoun. He also teamed with The Flying Scotts (
George &
Sandy Scott) in 6-man tag team matches. In later years, Crockett paired him with other "big men" such as Sailor Art Thomas,
Klondike Bill and Man Mountain Mike. Jacobs eventually left the Mid-Atlantic area for the West Coast to team with
Haystack Calhoun in the fall of 1962. Together they won the
NWA Los Angeles International Television Tag Team Championship from Sir Alan Garfield & Karl Von Schober on 31 October, and lost the titles to
The Destroyer and
Don Manoukian the following month. In between wrestling for Crockett, he won the NWA North American Championship in
North Bay, Canada. On 5 May 1964, he and
Don Curtis defeated
Hiro Matsuda &
Duke Keomuka in
Tampa, Florida, to win the
NWA World Tag Team Championship in
NWA Florida. In late 1964, he and Curtis competed in a 10-man tag team tournament held by promoter Cowboy Luttrell in Tampa and Miami to earn a title shot against to meet
Eddie Graham &
Sam Steamboat for the
NWA Florida Tag Team Championship. The other four teams included
Tarzan Tyler & Joe McCarthy,
Tony Marino & Steve Bolus, The Russian Wolfmen, and
The Executioners. Jacobs and Curtis defeated The Russian Wolfmen to advance to the finals where they lost to The Executioners. Jacobs also challenged several NWA World Heavyweight Champions during the mid-to-late 1960s. Jacobs again faced Thesz in Richmond on 5 November 1965.
Travels around the world (1966–1981) Like many New Zealand wrestlers, Jacobs also competed internationally during this period wrestling in 25 different countries and travelling around the world four times. In 1966, Jacobs travelled to Japan where he wrestled as the
masked wrestler Red Pimpernel. He returned to Japan three or four times and, as a "heel" wrestler, was a frequent opponent of
Antonio Inoki. He also met a number of NWA World Heavyweight Champions during this period including
Gene Kiniski,
Dick Hutton,
Buddy Rogers and
Dory Funk, Jr. during the mid-to late 1960s. One of the reasons Jacobs was able to eventually immigrate to the United States was because he was wrestling at a "
World Championship" level. When Jacobs competed in the US, he was under a
work visa which limited his time wrestling in the country. There were times when would be unable to compete in the country at all due to
national origins quotas set by the
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. With the passage of the
Immigration Act of 1965, Jacobs was able to apply for permanent residence and eventual citizenship. As part of the application process, he was required to show that he was not taking any work away from US citizens and, meeting with the Immigration and Labor Department, he presented to immigration officials proof with posters advertising himself wrestling Lou Thesz for the World Title in Miami in 1964. For much of the 1960s and early 1970s, Jacobs headlined shows for
Jim Crockett's
NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. By this time in his career, Jacobs was well known as a "
tag team specialist", the territory being known as a "hotbed" for tag teams at the time, having teamed with
Sailor Art Thomas, Klondike Bill and
Man Mountain Mike and Atlantic Coast Tag Team Champions
Rip Hawk &
Swede Hanson (managed by General Homer O'Dell). One of his most favourite tag team partners during this period was
Luther Lindsay who, similar to Jacobs, was once billed as the "Coloured (or Negro) Heavyweight Champion". They feuded with the
masked tag team The Infernos with manager Jimmy Dykes, one of their matches nearly selling out the
Dorton Arena in
Raleigh, North Carolina, The two were ranked #15 of the top 20 tag teams in the world by
Ring Wrestling in December 1968. Within a few years, however, Jacobs began cutting back on his ring schedule, making his last Japanese tour in 1973, and settled down in the Carolinas, where he purchased a horse ranch, and wrestled tag team matches against Flair and
Rip Hawk with a number of different partners. Though he had been a popular wrestler in the territory while wrestling for Crockett, Jacobs was of the few older veterans who did not win any titles. However, he did win the
NWA Western States Tag Team Championship with
"Pistol" Pez Whatley That same year, he wrestled
Superstar Billy Graham at the
Greensboro Coliseum on 3 April 1975. In Georgia, Jacobs feuded with another young wrestler,
Randy Savage, during the summer of 1977. During one of these meetings, he and
Roberto Soto defeated Savage and Bill Howard in a tag team match at the Atlanta City Auditorium on 3 June 1977. He was also brought to
Maple Leaf Wrestling by Toronto promoter
Frank Tunney where, on 22 October 1978, he fought British wrestler
Geoff Portz to a lime-limit draw at the
Maple Leaf Gardens. When George Scott left for the
World Wrestling Federation in 1981,
Ole Anderson took over as head booker for the promotion. Due to personal differences with Anderson, Jacobs was no longer booked in the territory. and
"Iron" Mike Sharpe, and teamed with Ted Oates and
George Welles. On 5 September edition of
Georgia Championship Wrestling (1971–1982) on WTBS where he and Ken Hall unsuccessfully challenged
NWA National Tag Team Champions Jimmy Snuka &
Terry Gordy. He also worked in
Florida Championship Wrestling. One of his last matches in the United States was against
David Von Erich in
Miami on 16 December 1981, and made appearances for
Steve Rickard's All Star Pro-Wrestling in New Zealand, before retiring that same year.
Post-retirement In the years following his retirement, Jacobs remained in North Carolina and managed several gyms including
Ricky Steamboat's facility in
Charlotte. While living in Charlotte, he also made occasional visits to his family ranch in New Zealand. On 20 May 1995, he was one of several legendary wrestlers in attendance for
Smoky Mountain Wrestling's "Carolina Memories"
supercard at the Grady Cole Center including
Mr. Wrestling, Nelson Royal,
Swede Hanson,
Johnny Weaver,
Magnum T. A. and ex-referee
Tommy Young. While looking after Steamboat's gym, Jacobs was contacted by the manager of
Abe Jacobs, Jr., an independent wrestler then competing on the local
"indy circuit", who invited him to be in his corner in an upcoming match in
Asheville. She later brought Abe Jacobs, Jr. to the gym and wanted him to teach her wrestler how to perform the "Kiwi Leg Roll" finisher. Jacobs declined both offers. and often made appearances at legend's reunions and conventions such as the annual
Cauliflower Alley Club. He had also been in attendance for the funeral of
Mr. Wrestling several years earlier, Bob Leonard wrote in a later editorial that Jacobs "proved to be a vibrant speaker, and a personable addition to the great social atmosphere of the event". ==Personal life and death==