Antonino Rocca
On 23 February 1959, Jacobs made his debut at its home arena at Madison Square Garden in New York City appearing on the undercard against kayfabe Nazi sympathizer Karl Von Hess defeating him via disqualification. His feud with Von Hess caused some controversy when, during a pre-match interview with announcer Ray Morgan, he said Jacobs family "better start saying the Kaddish" (Jewish Prayer for the Dead); his threatening words generated telephone calls, hate mail and resulted in a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He later scored victories over Kenny Ackles, Johnny Valentine, The Sheik, "Wild" Bull Curry and Dr. Jerry Graham. He also briefly teamed with Antonino Rocca and together fought Dr. Jerry &amp; Eddie Graham. In January 1960, Jacobs faced Bruno Sammartino who later became the promotion's top star for over a decade.