"zob" (U.S. slang, rare) may have its origin in a baseball context; new (1913) attestation

[Gerald Cohen]

   The rare U.S. slang term "zob" (a weak or contemptible person, a
fool) turns out to have its first two attestations in a baseball
context: 1911 (cited in the Oxford English Dictionary) and now 1913
(which I noticed yesterday in _The Bulletin_ -- San Francisco
newspaper). I had never heard of this term before yesterday, and its
etymology is still baffling.  But with a baseball context looking
like the possible starting place of this word, I'd be grateful to
know if any of you come across this term in your baseball or lexical
research.

    Here first is what the Oxford English Dictionary says about the term:

zob: U.S. slang. rare. [Origin unknown.] A weak or contemptible person; a fool.

   1911 W. F. KIRK Right off Bat 13 He came here in the early Spring
with all the try-out mob Striving to bat like Wagner and to slide
(spikes first) like Cobb. Some of the vets cried, 'Bonehead!' Others
remarked, 'Poor zob!'
1920 S. LEWIS Main Street xxxv. 416 And the same thing goes for that
crowd of crabs and snobs Down East, and next time you hear some zob
from Yahooville-on-the-Hudson chewing the rag..you tell him that
no..Westerner would have New York for a gift!
1922  Babbitt x. 140, I don't know how you fellows feel about
prohibition, but the way it strikes me is that it's a mighty
beneficial thing for the poor zob that hasn't got any will-power but
for fellows like us, it's an infringement of
personal liberty.
1942 BERREY & VAN DEN BARK Amer. Thes. Slang §396 Terms of
disparagement..yaphead, yazzihamper, zob.

****

    Here now is a 1913 attestation of the term; note that the first
two attestations (1911--OED; 1913-- _Bulletin_) are in a baseball
context. Maybe the origin of the term (still unknown) is to be sought
there. ---  _The Bulletin_ (San Francisco newspaper), Sept. 17, 1913,
p. 12, col. 3; article title:
"Tommy Leach Is One Old-Timer Who Came Back":
"...When Chicago secured Leach from Pittsburg on a deal the wise zobs
chirped: 'What's Murphy want of that old fossil?' It did look like
vintage, but nevertheless, and a couple notwithstandings, Leach
pulled himself together and has, and is, playing a sensational
outfield for the Cubs. ..."

Gerald Cohen