Bill Akers

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William G. Akers
(Bump)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 178 lb.
• Debut September 8, 1929
• Final Game July 27, 1932
• Born December 25, 1904 in Chattanooga, TN USA
• Died April 12, 1962 in Chattanooga, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Bill Akers was from Chattanooga, and played for the Jonesboro Buffaloes in the Class D Tri-State League in 1925. He went on to play for the Durham Bulls in the Class C Piedmont League, the Portsmouth Truckers in the Class B Virginia League and theChattanooga Lookouts, and New Orleans Pelicans in the Class A South Atlantic League before making his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers on September 9, 1929. He played 174 games for the Tigers and Boston Braves between then and 1932. In the bigs, he primarily wore number 7.

Akers then went back to the minor leagues and played for the Little Rock Travelers in the Southern Association in 1934 before leaving baseball and joining the Arkansas State Troopers as a motorcycle policeman. In July 1940, Akers became the first big leaguer to join the US Army Air Corps. He enlisted in the 39th Pursuit Squadron and was stationed at Selfridge Field, MS. During the war, he spent 31 months in the Pacific and was awarded the Presidential Citation with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, and 4 battle stars. He remained in the service until he retired in 1960 as a TSGT and died two years later. He was buried in the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Related Sites

• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Bill Akers