BC Lions mourn loss of Bob Ackles
BC Lions mourn loss of Bob Ackles
July 7, 2008
With sadness, the BC Lions Football Club has announced the passing of its president and CEO Bob Ackles, who died Sunday, July 6 after suffering a heart attack. The club’s original water boy who rose through the ranks to become it’s most recognizable ambassador had been an integral member of the club for more than 50 years. Bob was 69.
Bob’s star rose quickly with the Lions, and in 1966 he was named the club’s director of football development. He was promoted again in 1971 to assistant general manager. Four years later, he was promoted to general manager, holding that title until 1986.
Under Bob’s leadership, the Lions captured the 1985 Grey Cup -- their first CFL title in 21 seasons. This was to be a triumphant but temporary end to Bob’s Lions career, as he accepted an offer to join the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL after 34 years with the Leos. Bob spent six seasons in Dallas; three as vice president of pro personnel, and three as vice president of player personnel. He also played a key role in guiding the Cowboys back to the playoffs in 1991. Bob left Dallas following that season, but the team he helped assemble would go on to win Super Bowls in 1993, 1994 and 1996.
Bob joined the Phoenix Cardinals in 1992 as director of college scouting before receiving a promotion to assistant general manager in 1994. Bob’s next stop was Philadelphia in 1995, where he was named the Eagles’ director of football administration. A year later, Bob would reunite with former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson in Miami as the club’s director of football operations, a position he held for five years.
In 2000, Bob was named vice president and general manager of the Las Vegas Outlaws. This put Bob in the history books as the only man to hold senior executive positions in the CFL, NFL and XFL. With the XFL only lasting a single season, Bob found himself out of football for the first time in decades and seized the opportunity to further his education and enrolled in UNLV’s Fine Arts program.
In 2002, Bob’s triumphant return to the Lions was capped off with his induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a Builder. In an effort to return the club to its proper place in the community and the CFL, he recruited one of the league’s most successful coaches of all time, Wally Buono, and named him head coach and general manager in 2003.
In 2004, Ackles was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Accolades for Ackles work continued in 2005 when Bob was honoured with the Jack Diamond Award by the Jewish Community Centre as Sportsman of the Year. Bob was also a Schenley Award of Excellence winner. In 2006, the Lions captured their fifth championship - the first since Bob’s return to Vancouver.
In September 2007, Bob’s highly anticipated memoir The Water Boy, a candid, personal account of his life and his more than 50 years in professional football, was launched and received rave reviews across North America.
In addition to his work with the Lions, Bob also served on the board of directors for the Vancouver YMCA, the Canadian Tourism Commission, and for the Burnaby Mountain Sport & Medical Centre.
Bob is survived by his wife Kay, sons Steve (Sherri) and Scott (Teresa) and grandchildren, Robert, Ashley Kyle, Kasey and Robyn.
“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)
July 7, 2008
With sadness, the BC Lions Football Club has announced the passing of its president and CEO Bob Ackles, who died Sunday, July 6 after suffering a heart attack. The club’s original water boy who rose through the ranks to become it’s most recognizable ambassador had been an integral member of the club for more than 50 years. Bob was 69.
Bob’s star rose quickly with the Lions, and in 1966 he was named the club’s director of football development. He was promoted again in 1971 to assistant general manager. Four years later, he was promoted to general manager, holding that title until 1986.
Under Bob’s leadership, the Lions captured the 1985 Grey Cup -- their first CFL title in 21 seasons. This was to be a triumphant but temporary end to Bob’s Lions career, as he accepted an offer to join the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL after 34 years with the Leos. Bob spent six seasons in Dallas; three as vice president of pro personnel, and three as vice president of player personnel. He also played a key role in guiding the Cowboys back to the playoffs in 1991. Bob left Dallas following that season, but the team he helped assemble would go on to win Super Bowls in 1993, 1994 and 1996.
Bob joined the Phoenix Cardinals in 1992 as director of college scouting before receiving a promotion to assistant general manager in 1994. Bob’s next stop was Philadelphia in 1995, where he was named the Eagles’ director of football administration. A year later, Bob would reunite with former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson in Miami as the club’s director of football operations, a position he held for five years.
In 2000, Bob was named vice president and general manager of the Las Vegas Outlaws. This put Bob in the history books as the only man to hold senior executive positions in the CFL, NFL and XFL. With the XFL only lasting a single season, Bob found himself out of football for the first time in decades and seized the opportunity to further his education and enrolled in UNLV’s Fine Arts program.
In 2002, Bob’s triumphant return to the Lions was capped off with his induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a Builder. In an effort to return the club to its proper place in the community and the CFL, he recruited one of the league’s most successful coaches of all time, Wally Buono, and named him head coach and general manager in 2003.
In 2004, Ackles was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Accolades for Ackles work continued in 2005 when Bob was honoured with the Jack Diamond Award by the Jewish Community Centre as Sportsman of the Year. Bob was also a Schenley Award of Excellence winner. In 2006, the Lions captured their fifth championship - the first since Bob’s return to Vancouver.
In September 2007, Bob’s highly anticipated memoir The Water Boy, a candid, personal account of his life and his more than 50 years in professional football, was launched and received rave reviews across North America.
In addition to his work with the Lions, Bob also served on the board of directors for the Vancouver YMCA, the Canadian Tourism Commission, and for the Burnaby Mountain Sport & Medical Centre.
Bob is survived by his wife Kay, sons Steve (Sherri) and Scott (Teresa) and grandchildren, Robert, Ashley Kyle, Kasey and Robyn.
“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)
posted by The Gryphon at 5:40 PM
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