Sigmund Jakucki (August 20, 1909 – May 28, 1979), nicknamed "Sig" or "Jack",[1] was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who appeared in 72 games over all or part of three seasons (1936 and 1944–1945) for the St. Louis Browns.

However, due to a shortage of available players during World War II, the Browns sent him a letter inviting him to 1944 spring training.

The Jakuckis had little money, and Sig stopped attending school after the seventh grade to work odd jobs.

Officially, the discharge was for medical reasons, but a local baseball promoter may have helped attain the early release.

[4] Jakucki played with another Honolulu semipro team called Asahi, even though the club was primarily for Hawaiians with Japanese ancestry.

[1] After Jakucki attracted the attention of Bill Inman, a scout for the San Francisco Seals of the Class AA Pacific Coast League (PCL), the ballplayer journeyed to California to try out for the team.

San Francisco signed him but was unimpressed with how he fared against their pitchers during spring training, and his contract was sold to the Oakland Oaks before the season.

[6] During the 1935 season, Jakucki hit Johnny Keane in the head with a pitch, putting the prospect in the hospital for a week with a coma.

Following persistent teasing by Buffaloes fans, Jakucki and manager/teammate Jack Mealey charged into the stands and began punching the spectators.

The fine outing caught the attention of major league scouts, and the St. Louis Browns acquired his rights on August 18.

[1] He had a 10–19 record (ranking third in the Texas League in losses, behind Beryl Richmond's 21 and Harold Hillin's 20), a 4.22 ERA, and 111 walks in 237 innings pitched.

Pitching six innings, he allowed only four hits but walked seven batters, surrendering five runs (four earned) and taking the loss in a 7–4 defeat.

According to Arthur Daley of The New York Times, Jakucki "flattened" the referee, also taking on the spectators and the contestants before getting arrested.

He participated in the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series in Wichita, Kansas, in 1940 as the star pitcher on a Houston team.

He took the loss in a 2–1 decision in the 1942 tournament, then drunkenly confronted the home plate umpire, holding him over the edge of a bridge before police officers had to brandish guns to arrest him.

[1] During World War II, the Browns ran short of players and wrote Jakucki a letter inviting him to 1944 spring training.

After losing his next start 1–0 to the New York Yankees on June 29, he shutout the Philadelphia Athletics in the first game of a July 4 doubleheader.

[13] Buoyed by strong pitching, the historically terrible Browns found themselves unexpected contenders for the American League pennant.

[14] He held the Red Sox to five hits in a 1–0 victory over them on September 26, his fourth shutout of the year, which kept St. Louis tied with Detroit for the AL lead.

[1] Entering the final day of the season (October 1), the teams were still tied,; contemporary sportswriter John Drebinger called it the "most dramatic finish any championship campaign has ever seen".

"[16] Facing the Yankees in front of 35,518 fans, the most in Sportsmans Park history, Jakucki pitched a six-hit, complete game in which he allowed only two runs (one earned).

"Drunk or not, Big Sig was competitive," observed Bob Broeg, a sports reporter in St. Louis for many years.

Tired of listening to verbal abuse from Chicago White Sox batting practice pitcher Karl Scheel, Jakucki and several other teammates charged into his dugout and beat him up.

In his last outing of the year, on August 29 against the Tigers, he allowed four runs (two earned) in 2+1⁄3 innings, through the Browns ultimately won the game 5–4.

Still determined to reach Chicago, Jakucki rode a freight train there but was not allowed a room when he arrived at the team's hotel.

They sought to trade him, but when no MLB teams expressed a desire to acquire him, the Browns assigned him to the San Antonio Missions in the Texas League (now rated Class AA).

[1][6] Manager Jimmy Adair informed the ballclub before the start of the season that there would be two sets of rules, one for Jakucki and one for the rest of the team.

[1] In his brief MLB career, Jakucki put up a 25–22 won–lost record, with 27 complete games (in 50 total starts), five shutouts, and four saves.