Bobby Ackles: A Football Life -- by Kadie Smith

The Place for BC Lion Discussion. A forum for Lions fans to talk and chat about our team.
Discussion, News, Information and Speculation regarding the BC Lions and the CFL.
Prowl, Growl and Roar!

Moderator: Team Captains

Post Reply
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

http://www.bclions.com/article/bob-ackl ... tball-life
Bob Ackles: A football lifeThursday, March 12th, 2015

Kadie Smith

In his more than 50 years in football, 40 of them in BC, Bob Ackles saw and did it all. Cliché saying, but in Bob’s case, it really is true. His is a story that defines hard work and dedication, one of climbing the ranks in a time when the term “climbing the ranks” wasn’t part of the vernacular.

The former Lions president and CEO started his career as the club’s first water boy, working his way up to director of football development in 1966, then to assistant general manager in 1971, and finally to general manager in 1975, a position he held until 1986.

He was there for it all, from the very beginning. The first Grey Cup win in 1964 over the Ticats -the season of redemption -, the games at Empire Stadium, the era of Joe Kapp, Lui Passaglia’s first season.

He was there when Willie Fleming rumbled for a 109-yard major, still the longest rushing touchdown in CFL history. He was there when Annis Stukus convinced the club's board of directors to spend $5,000 per game on pre-game and half-time shows, an unheard of venture in the league at that time. Ackles grew up with the team, with the organization and with the fans.

Known for his generous nature and warmth, he ushered in a era of accountability and openness with he team and with fans; people felt they could trust him to make the right decisions and if he didn’t they trusted he would correct them.

In 1985, he led the Lions to their first Grey Cup win in 21 years, but it was to be a short-lived victory party as he left the club prior to the 1986 season to join the NFL, first with Dallas, where he helped the Cowboys back to the playoffs in 1991, then to Phoenix, Philadelphia and Miami.

In 2002, after leaving the Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL, Ackles made a triumphant return to BC as the Lions’ president and CEO, the same year he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder.

He quickly set about restoring the image of the Lions franchise in the league and in the community, one that had been tarnished by years of hardships and financial instability. In 2003, he recruited Wally Buono, naming him head coach and GM, and followed that by bringing star quarterback Dave Dickenson aboard the same year.

It wasn’t until 2006 that Ackles was able to see his efforts pay off when the Lions captured their fifth Grey Cup title. In 2007, he published his memoir The Water Boy, which received raves reviews for his candour and insight.

Bob Ackles passed away on July 6th, 2008. Fans, players, and staff were shocked and saddened by the death of their leader, a man who had come to represent stability for the club. Said then CFL commissioner Mark Cohon at the time of Ackles’ passing, “It was our league that virtually adopted him when he was just a boy, and it's our league that has looked to him as a man for counsel, inspiration and leadership by example. We’ve lost one of the true greats. His contribution was so tremendous and our gratitude so profound, they exceed even the deep sense of loos we feel today.”

Always stoical, Wally Buono could not contain his emotion when discussing his friend. Support and messages poured in from fans across BC whose lives Ackles had touched with his kindness and dedication to the sport and the community.

Before his death, Ackles had begin work on his long-time dream of setting up a football hall of fame in BC dedicated to grassroots and amateur football across the province. He wasn’t able to see the project come to fruition, but his son Scott and wife Kay carried on the work, and the board of directors, of which Lions’ president and CEO Dennis Skulsky is a member, is committed to carrying on Ackles’ vision.

When the hall opened in 2011, Bob Ackles was inducted as a builder.


“I look back on my life and my career and feel like the luckiest man in the world. Few people get to spend their days doing something they love with those they love.”

Bob Ackles (1938-2008)

Accolades:
BC Amatuer Football Builders Award – 1980
Schenley Award – 1986 (the only non-player to receive the award)

Canadian Football Hall of Fame (builder) – 2002

BC Sports Hall of Fame – 2004

Jack Diamond Award – 2005

Bob Ackles Day (Vancouver) – 1986

Key to the City (Vancouver) – 1986
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

Very nice article by Kadie Smith about Bobby Ackles.

Amazing man. Amazing life story.

God bless him.

Rest in Peace, Bobby.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

Bobby Ackles ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
Post Reply