Biography of John Sidney Acosta, Jacksonville, Duval County, FL

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Transcribed from:  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.