Albert George Akins (June 13, 1921 – August 29, 1995) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

halfback and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played three seasons for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC). Akins was a native of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

and attended

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

and later the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, where he played football and basketball. He was a key member of a University of Washington team that lost the

Rose Bowl Game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on ...

in 1943 to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. Akins played for the Browns in 1946, and subsequently joined Buffalo and Brooklyn. He won an AAFC championship with the Browns, although he did not play in the championship game due to an injury. After his playing career, Akins became an assistant football coach at

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1867 and is situated on the historic M. Lloyd Frank Estate in South Portland's Collins View neighborhood. It is composed of three distinct but adjac ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He went on to become head coach of

Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...

for 15 years starting in 1955. His coaching record at Southern Oregon was 71–62–3.

Early life

Akins grew up in

and attended John R. Rogers High School, where he played on the basketball team and ran track. His brothers Frank and Hal were also standouts as athletes.

College career

Akins lettered in basketball at Washington State College in 1940 and 1941, but did not play football. By the end of 1943, Akins had transferred to the

, where many Washington State players went to train in the U.S. Navy. He played football there, starring as a halfback for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

. He was also said to be a good passer. The 1943 team went undefeated and was heavily favored to beat the

in the

1944 Rose Bowl The 1944 Rose Bowl was the thirtieth Rose Bowl Game, edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, January 1. This was the first Rose Bowl game featuring teams from th ...

. The

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

won 29–0, however. Akins fumbled the ball in the third quarter, setting up one of the Trojans' touchdowns. Jim Hardy, the USC quarterback, said after the game that the team's "only real fear was that that fellow Al Akins might get loose on the runback of a punt for a touchdown." Akins also played basketball at the University of Washington in 1944, when he was a first-team All-PCC selection. That year, the Huskies basketball team won 20 games in a row and finished first in their conference.

Professional career

Although drafted by the Cleveland Rams in the sixth round of the

1944 NFL draft The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Perhaps as a tip of the hat to wartime sensibilities, the 1944 draft was officially called the "1943 Preferred Negotiations List" by the league. ...

, by the time Akins returned from military duty in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

, the team had pulled up stakes and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Akins instead opted to play in 1946 with the new Cleveland franchise that was part of the rival

(AAFC), the Browns. Akins scored his only touchdown of the season on a 50-yard run in a game against the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. Cleveland defeated the AAFC's New York Yankees to win the league title that year. Akins did not play in the title game because of an injury, however, having suffered a separated shoulder in a game against the

Miami Seahawks The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the league's inaugural season, 1946, before the team was relocated to Baltimore. They are notable ...

. Akins played a full season in 1947 for the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers, seeing action in 13 games with 3 starts and scoring one touchdown.Kenneth R. Crippen, ''The Original Buffalo Bills: A History of the All-America Football Conference Team, 1946–1949.'' Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2010, p. 221. He started the 1948 season with the Dodgers but was shipped to the

after having played just three games. He saw action in just one game for the Bills, getting the start, but was again injured and missed the rest of the season — including the 1948 AAFC Championship Game, which the Bills lost to the Browns. As the 1949 season approached, Akins remained on the Bills training camp roster but he was cut by the team ahead of the season, ending his professional football playing career.

Coaching career

Akins took a job as an assistant football coach at

. He resigned in 1954 to seek a head coaching job, and got the top spot the following year at

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population w ...

. He stayed in that job for 15 seasons until 1969. His teams' combined record was 71–62–3 during that span. He is first all-time among coaches at Southern Oregon in total wins and fifth in career winning percentage (.533).

Head coaching record

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akins, Al 1921 births 1995 deaths American football defensive backs American football halfbacks American men's basketball players Cleveland Browns (AAFC) players Lewis & Clark Pioneers football coaches Southern Oregon Raiders football coaches Washington State Cougars men's basketball players Washington Huskies football players Washington Huskies men's basketball players Coaches of American football from Washington (state) Players of American football from Spokane, Washington Basketball players from Spokane, Washington American military personnel of World War II