The History of Florida: Past & Present
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1923
ACOSTA, JOHN SIDNEY. "Johnny" was born December 13, 1898, in Jacksonville, Florida. His
father, TRACY L. ACOSTA, was born in Starke, Florida, November 18, 1862 and has spent most
of his life in that state and Georgia. He is a non-graduate member of the class of 1882 of
the University of Georgia and is state agent for Florida of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance
Company of Philadelphia. Mrs.ACOSTA, who was CORA BAILEY of Bailey's Mills, Georgia, before
her marriage, was a student at Wesleyan Female College, Macon, Georgia. There were three
sons and a daughter in the family, but one son died. The other is TRACY ACOSTA.
JOHN S. ACOSTA came to Yale from the Lawrenceville (New Jersey) School. He went out for
football and track; was captain of the Freshman Football Team, and in 1919 and 1920 was on
the University Football Team. In Freshman year he was on the Freshman Team, and in the
Sophomore, Junior and Senior years belonged to the University Track Team. He has numerals
and his "Y", and won the Willisbrook cup for hammer throwing. He was a member of the
Sophomore German Committee, the Junior Promenade Committee and the Student Council. He
belongs to the Lawrenceville School Club, the Southern Club, of which he was treasurer in
1920, the Sword and Gun Club, Delta Kappa Epsilon and Skull and Bones, being the only Florida
born man who ever received that honor. Mr. ACOSTA joined the Yale R.O.T.C. in October 1917,
and served with it at New Haven and Camp Jackson, South Carolina, until September 13, 1918,
when he was commissioned second lieutenant of Field Artillery and assigned to the Thirty-ninth
Training Battery at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky. He remained with that unit until he
received his discharge on December 4, 1918. After graduation he joined his father in the
insurance business in Jacksonville, Florida. At this writing (fall of 1922), he is coach
of the Freshman Football Team of the University of Florida.
Presented by Nancy Rayburn