John Acosta: podcast appearances and interviews

John Sidney Acosta was a college football player and coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He played as a guard for the Yale Bulldogs and was selected first-team All-American in 1920 by Walter Eckersall. Acosta attended Yale after coming from the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and participated in football and track throughout his college years. He served as captain of the Freshman Football Team and was a member of various student organizations, including the Student Council, the Lawrenceville School Club, the Southern Club, and the Sword and Gun Club. Acosta was also a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and Skull and Bones, being the only Florida-born man to receive that honor. During World War I, he joined the Yale ROTC in October 1917 and served at New Haven and Camp Jackson until September 1918, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Field Artillery and assigned to the Thirty-ninth Training Battery at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky. He was discharged from service in December 1918. After graduation, Acosta joined his father's insurance business in Jacksonville before moving into coaching. In 1922, he served as the freshman coach for the Florida Gators, leading them to a southern title. His career was cut short when he died at the age of 30 in an automobile accident.