Tackling life with plenty of compassion

General Article
August 21, 2003

Father inspired former football star and longtime center supporter Jacob Green to make a difference in people's lives

Former Seahawk Jacob Green lost his father to cancer, which drove him to support Fred Hutchinson's research efforts. Photo by Todd McNaught

By Brad Broberg

Anyone who ever watched Jacob Green play football knows he played the game with great passion. What people may not know is that he tackles life with the same amount of compassion.

That's why the former Seattle Seahawks star continues to host a charity golf tournament for Fred Hutchinson long after he retired from football and left Seattle. And it's why he's so deeply involved in helping troubled and neglected teens in his hometown of Houston.

"Helping others just makes you feel good - it really does," said Green.

Launched 16 years ago, the Jacob Green Charity Golf Classic has raised more than $1 million for cancer research at Fred Hutchinson. This summer's event at the Harbour Pointe Golf Club in Mukilteo was one of the most successful ever, raising $209,000 for the center. And now, Green is the driving force behind another charity tournament - this one benefiting Jaycee's Children's Center in Houston.

Founded by Green and his sister, the nonprofit children's center is home to 20 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who for a variety of reasons need a safe and supportive environment in which to put their lives back on track. "It's a great opportunity to help kids who have hard time in life," Green said. "Some of them don't have any other place to go."

Green, a sociology major in college, named the children's center after his father. "His name was Jacob, too, but everybody knew him as Jaycee," explained Green.

Jaycee Green, who owned and operated a landscaping business for 40 years, died of pancreatic cancer in 1982. He was 65.

"My dad was a working man and he worked hard all his life," Green said. "He was one of those people everybody respected. He taught me how to be a man, take care of my family and treat people right."

The loss of his father to cancer spurred Green to do his part in the fight against cancer. He decided to sponsor a golf tournament in 1988 to support cancer research at Fred Hutchinson. He saw it as a way to bring together a wide range of people around a fun, entertaining event and support a lifesaving cause at the same time.

The Jacob Green Charity Golf Classic has grown into one of the premier celebrity golf tournaments in the region. This year's tournament and dinner auction drew more than 300 participants from around the country, including Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice.

Green, 46, played 12 seasons for the Seahawks before finishing his 13th and final season in 1992 with San Francisco. A college All-American at Texas A&M University, he remains Seattle's all-time leader in sacks, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.

"Thirteen years is a long time," Green said. "I miss football a little, but I miss the guys I played with more."

After retiring from football, Green joined the family landscaping business. Four years later, they sold the business. Not long after that, he opened Jaycee's Children's Center.

And Green doesn't plan to stop there.

"What I'd really like to do is build another home for boys," he said. "There's a lot of young men falling by the wayside in Houston. I know I can help.

"And I want to continue to support the fight against cancer. Fred Hutchinson's advances in prevention and treatment help everyone."

Green said his father would be honored to have his son supporting such important causes in his name.

"He would be smiling from ear to ear because we made him proud," he said.

[Brad Broberg is a Seattle-area freelance writer.]

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