Bob Ackles – we lose a great one

The phone rang at my home late Sunday morning and an old friend asked, “Is Bobby Ackles dead? I just heard from someone that he had died and I can’t find anything on the radio.” I told him I would check with my media friends. I was shocked to discover that the rumor was true.

Bobby had died on Bowen Island as he climbed a hill to get a coffee and the morning paper to take back to his boat The Water Buoy. He had been stricken with a massive heart attack and all efforts to revive him failed.

courtesy BC Sports Hall of Fame

Bob and I go back to our High School days at King Edward High, which used to be located at 12th and Oak. To know someone for a lifetime and find out that he had suddenly passed away was unnerving. Two days before we had enjoyed a personal get together at Joe Fortes Restaurant on the roof in the blazing sunshine. He seemed in good health and was certainly in good form with his laughter present as always.

I have many personal memories of Bobby over the decades but his dedication to football is legend. He came back from a successful career in the NFL and the XFL in the U.S. He came back to town to revive a football team that was on life support. Not only did Bobby turn the B.C. Lions into a success, he won the Grey Cup and saved our football team. We all loved him. To quote William Shakespeare, “No monumental stone preserves our name, nor sky-aspiring pyramids fame. The memory for whom this stands, shall outlive Marble and defacers’ hands”.

I miss you, old friend. My condolences to Kay and to Bob’s family. He was one in a million.