Robert Ackles (September 16, 1938 – July 6, 2008) was a

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

executive for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

. He also was a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

executive in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 2002.

Early years

Ackles was born in

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and joined the BC Lions as a water boy in their founding year, 1954, at the age of 16.

Professional career

Ackles grew professionally through the ranks of the

organization. He worked his way through his college studies as the Lions' equipment manager. He became the

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

development in 1966 and assistant general manager in 1971. He was promoted to general manager in 1975, a position he held for 11 years until 1986. He would perform virtually every administrative duty during his 32-year career with the BC Lions. Under his leadership, the BC Lions became one of the CFL's winningest teams, moved into a new stadium and built a new training facility. In 1985, the club won the Grey Cup. In July 1986, he joined the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

as the franchise's first Director of Pro Personnel. In May 1989, he was named the Cowboys' Director of Player Personnel. Ackles was instrumental in the development of the XFL. The XFL disbanded after its lone season in 2001. The following year, in 2002, Ackles returned to the Lions as President and CEO, a position he held until his death of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on July 6, 2008. Ackles' autobiography, ''The Water Boy'', was published in 2007 and recounted his life and time in all three leagues and the future of the CFL. Ackles was inducted into the

as a Builder in 2002, the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...

in 2004, and is the only non-player to ever be awarded the Schenley Award (1986).

Early years

Professional career

References

Further reading