So Minnesota: State’s biggest baby

The birth of every baby is big news, but one Minnesota baby gave the stork sore wings.

Nearly 90 years ago, the state’s huskiest baby captured headlines across Minnesota and the country.

On the evening of July 16, 1936, Jacob Schmitz Jr., was born in Graceville, Minnesota.

Schmitz tipped the scales at 16 pounds and he was 24½ inches long. His head measured 16 inches, his chest 17 inches and shoulders 8 inches.

“It seemed like he was always the highlight when we would get together or go somewhere, we would always, ‘This is the big boy, Jake Jr.,’ you know,” Jim Schmitz said of his older brother.

Schmitz appeared in several papers and Life Magazine.

“There was a lot of news articles on him in different papers,” Schmitz said. “He was born a very big boy and got a lot of publicity.”

Jacob Schmitz died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 31.

This story originally aired July 26, 2021.