Wally Akers
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Walter William George Akers | ||
Date of birth | 1917 | ||
Place of birth | West Auckland, England | ||
Date of death | 1976 | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Outside forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1934–1935 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
1935 | Newport County | 0 | (0) |
1935–1937 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 15 | (4) |
1937–1939 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
1939–1946 | Mansfield Town | 0[A] | (0) |
1946–1948 | Gillingham | 40 | (20) |
Corby Town | |||
Goole Town | |||
Managerial career | |||
1950–1958 | Corby Town | ||
1958–1961 | Kettering Town | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Walter William George Akers (1917–1976) was an English professional footballer either side of the Second World War.
Playing career
[edit]Born in West Auckland, he began his professional career with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1934, but left the club without ever playing for the first team, and joined Newport County, where he experienced a similar spell. He finally made his debut in The Football League for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, where he made 15 League starts in total.[2] After a short spell with Chelsea, in which he again played no first-team football, he joined Mansfield Town for the start of the 1939–40 season. He played three times and scored three goals before the League was abandoned due to the start of the war.[2] After the war, he joined Gillingham of the Southern League, where he played for two seasons, scoring 20 goals in 40 games. One of his goals came in a 12–1 win over Gloucester City, which remains the club's biggest-ever win in a competitive fixture.[3] In 1948, he moved on to Corby Town and later played for Goole Town.[2]
Managerial career
[edit]In 1950 he took over as manager of Corby, and led the team to the United Counties League championship in both his first two seasons in charge.[4] He later managed Kettering Town.[5]
Notes
[edit]A. ^ Akers played three matches, scoring three goals, at the start of the 1939–40 season, but the season was abandoned due to the outbreak of the Second World War and all matches played up to that point expunged.
References
[edit]- ^ "Boscombe. £4,000 stand". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. xii – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 – 1939. Soccerdata. p. 7. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
- ^ Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. pp. 56–57. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
- ^ "Club History". Corby Town F.C. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ^ "Wally Akers". PoppiesFans.com. Retrieved 7 August 2010. [dead link]
- 1917 births
- 1976 deaths
- English Football League players
- Gillingham F.C. players
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
- Chelsea F.C. players
- Mansfield Town F.C. players
- Newport County A.F.C. players
- AFC Bournemouth players
- Corby Town F.C. players
- Goole Town F.C. players
- Kettering Town F.C. managers
- Corby Town F.C. managers
- Men's association football outside forwards
- English football managers
- English men's footballers
- People from West Auckland
- Footballers from County Durham
- United Counties League players
- 20th-century English sportsmen