Bill Acker
{{Short description|American football player (born 1956)}}
{{For|the American general|William P. Acker}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| number = 67, 76, 75, 93
| position = Nose tackle
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|11|7}}
| birth_place = Freer, Texas, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 255
| high_school = Freer
| college = Texas
| draftyear = 1980
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 142
| teams =
- St. Louis Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1980|1981}})
- Kansas City Chiefs ({{NFL Year|1982}})
- Cincinnati Bengals (1983)*
- Buffalo Bills ({{NFL Year|1983|1984}})
- Kansas City Chiefs ({{NFL Year|1987}})
| highlights =
- 1975 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion
| statlabel1 = Sacks
| statvalue1 = 0.5
| statlabel2 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue2 = 1
| pfr = AckeBi20
}}
William Berry Acker Jr. (born November 7, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for six seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns.
College career
Acker played college football at The University of Texas between 1975 and 1979, but missed the 1976 season. In 1975, he helped the Longhorns win a share of the Southwest Conference Championship and defeat Colorado in the 1975 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl to finish ranked #6/#7. In 1977, he helped the Longhorns win the Southwest Conference Championship, spend the last 6 weeks of the season ranked #1 and play for the National Championship in the 1978 Cotton Bowl Classic which they lost to Notre Dame. He helped the team win the 1978 Sun Bowl and finish ranked #9 while he was named Second-team (All-Southwest Conference. That season he tied the then-school record for sacks in a season with 14 and led the team in forced fumbles.{{cite web |title=Texas Football Record Book |url=https://texaslonghorns.com/documents/2024/8/8/Football_Record_Book.pdf |access-date=14 February 2025}} He captained the 1979 team that finished the season ranked #12/#13 after losing the 1979 Sun Bowl to Washington.{{cite web |title=Texas Football History Honors |url=https://texaslonghorns.com/documents/2024/8/8/Football_History___Honors.pdf |access-date=14 February 2025}}
In the four seasons he played for Texas, the Longhorns were never unranked. Acker left the school having gotten more sacks in his career than any other Longhorn prior to him and topped only by teammate Tim Campbell. He also had the 2nd most forced fumbles.
Professional career
Acker was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 1980 NFL draft, #142 overall.
Personal life
His brother Jim is a former MLB pitcher.{{cite news|title=1987 Topps baseball card # 407}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals 1980 draft navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acker, Bill}}
Category:People from Freer, Texas
Category:Players of American football from Texas
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Texas Longhorns football players
Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
Category:Kansas City Chiefs players
Category:Buffalo Bills players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
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