IL Indoor

Duane Jacobs

Mention the name Dewey and nothing more needs be said. We all know who he is and if by chance you don’t, you really should. That’s how much Duane Jacobs contributed to the National Lacrosse League as a player for 11 seasons with the Detroit Turbos, the Rochester Knighthawks and the Buffalo Bandits. A big man who knew how to use body positioning to his advantage, perhaps the most impressive aspect of his playing career is that no matter which team he was a part of, he was a playoff participant in every single one of his 11 playing seasons. Maybe that’s why he was tapped to coach the Minnesota Swarm not long after his playing days ended, a gig that lasted 3 seasons. Today, he’s an assistant with the Buffalo Bandits and has plenty of memories from his playing days.

1. Tell us how you got started in the NLL.
In 1992, the Buffalo Bandits came into the league and a lot of Canadians were in the game. I went to a game at the old Aud and I said to myself that I have to be a part of this. Shane Sanderson was in Detroit with the Turbos at the time and he asked me to come to Detroit.

2. Was the game any different than what you grew up playing at Six Nations?
It was pretty much the same except we were practicing in a small arena outside of Detroit and the nets were bigger. And we had to use plastic sticks.

3. Was it disappointing to leave your wooden stick behind?
I’d never used plastic until then. I knew we couldn’t use the wooden sticks, but I experimented and finally found a pocket I could use. I wasn’t too disappointed, though. It was a part of the game and those were the rules.

Duane Jacobs was inducted into the Knighthawks Hall of Fame in 2009. (Photo: Rochester Knighthawks)

4. Favorite city you played for?
Most of my career was spent in Rochester and that’s where I established myself as a player. I had a certain amount of success there, so that’s a special place for me.

5. Favorite city to play in?
All the buildings that packed the crowds were great. Philly, Buffalo. The old Spectrum was pretty neat and the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto was pretty neat too.

6. Toughest guy you ever played against?
There really isn’t 1 guy who gave me a lot of trouble. I always seemed to be able to get open because most of my work was off-ball. But there was this one guy in Philly, Gary Martin, he was pretty fast and was a pretty good 1-on-1 defender. Pat Coyle was pretty good too.

7. Toughest goalie you ever faced?
Marty O’Neill, maybe Bob Watson. Marty was tough, except for 1 game he was playing with Buffalo and I was with Rochester.  I think I got 5 on him that night. Marty, I had a tough time against him. He always seemed to be able to read what I was doing.

8. Speaking of goalies, I see your old buddy Chugger called it a career.
He was a good one. He had a book on all the players he’d ever faced and before games, he’d be going over every player.

9. Any off-floor stories from your playing days still make you laugh today?
Yeah, but I don’t know how many are printable. There was this one time with the Knighthawks we flew down to Charlotte to play the Cobras. Cam Bomberry got lost in the airport and we ended up leaving him. When we were in the air, I just remember someone’s head popping up over the seats and saying ‘Where’s Cam?’ He wasn’t on the plane. So he had to sleep overnight in the airport and catch the next flight out.

10. You coached the Swarm for 3 seasons. What’s better, coaching or playing?
Playing, obviously. Coaching is the next best thing to playing. Nothing can compare to being on the floor, the intensity.

11. Gotta ask about that 1994 brawl between the Wings and Turbos. That was epic, and you were there pounding the snot outta somebody.
Yeah, that was just something that happened. I don’t go around bragging about it. The game just got out of hand. I didn’t fight a lot, but I did fight a few times. There comes a time for every player where they have to drop the gloves and that night was one of those nights. It was scary at the time, but we all ended up having a beer afterward.

Besides coaching the Bandits, Jacobs today has his own law practice in Windsor, Ontario, and spends time with his family which includes his 7-year-old son, Tie. In his 11 NLL seasons, he played 128 games and finished with 444 points on 216 goals and 228 assists. He was elected to the Knighthawks Hall of Fame in 2009.

Past profiles

Brian Silcott
Tony Resch
Randy Mearns
Pat McCabe
Matt Riter
Adam Mueller
Tom Carmean
Tom Ryan

From 2009

Rick Sowell
Mike French
Toby Boucher
Brian Lemon
Jeff Klodzen
Scott Gabrielson
Gary Becker
Peter Parke
Tim Soudan
Steve Govett
Gordon Purdie

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