Bob Ackles

BC Lions
Date of birth:	(1938-09-16)September 16, 1938
Place of birth:	Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Date of death:	July 6, 2008(2008-07-06) (aged 69)
Place of death:	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Career information
Position(s):	President General Manager
Organizations
As administrator:
1975–1986 1987–1991 1992–1994 1995 1996–2000 2001 2002–2008	BC Lions Dallas Cowboys Phoenix Cardinals Philadelphia Eagles Miami Dolphins Las Vegas Outlaws BC Lions
Career highlights and awards
instrumental in the development of the short lived XFL.
Awards:	BC Amateur Football Builders Award, 1980 Schenley Award (1986) Special Award Contribution to Junior Football - British Columbia
Honors:	Bob Ackles Day - Vancouver, 1986 Key to the City of Vancouver, 1986 Key to the City of Kelowna, 1986
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 2002

Robin Ackles (September 16, 1938 – July 6, 2008) was a Canadian Football League executive for the BC Lions. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Bob Ackles was born in Sarnia, Ontario and joined the BC Lions as a water boy in their founding year, 1953, at the age of 15. He worked his way through the ranks of the organization becoming the director of football development in 1966, assistant general manager in 1971 and, from 1975 until 1986 general manager.

After that, he spent time in the National Football League most notably six years as Vice President of Player Personnel for the Dallas Cowboys and was instrumental in the development of the XFL.

In 2002, Ackles returned to the Lions as President and CEO, a position he held until his death of a myocardial infarction 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 Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a Builder in 2002, the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, and is the only non-player to ever be awarded the Schenley Award (1986).

Further reading

• Ackles, Bob; Ian Mulgrew (September 2007). The Water Boy: From the Sidelines to the Owner's Box: Inside the CFL, the XFL, and the NFL. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-470-15345-8.

External links

• (video) Sad Day For Football. TSN. http://watch.tsn.ca/cfl-news-and-highlights/clip64883#clip64883. Retrieved 2008-07-09.