Illini Legends, Lists and Lore: Ron Acks

During the time he was a member of Coach Pete Elliott’s mid-1960s Illini football team, Ron Acks was one his squad’s most underpublicized players.

Teammates Dick Butkus, Jim Grabowski, George Donnelly, Archie Sutton and Don Hansen got the bulk of the attention from the media members who followed Illinois. And yet, when media and coaches chose the Big Ten’s postseason all-star teams in 1965, the Carbondale lad’s name was there alongside Michigan State’s Bubba Smith and George Webster, and Michigan’s Rick Volk.

Acks was born in Mt. Vernon 82 years ago Saturday (Oct. 3, 1944) and spent his formative years there until his family moved down the road to Carbondale. Wearing jersey No. 19 for legendary Terriers coach Frank Bleyer, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound crew cut referred to himself as a “knock-down guy.”

“When I first started to play football in high school, I loved defense and played hard at it,” Acks told the Illinois State Register. “Knocking guys down and making them lose the ball is the most fun part of playing football.”

Acks was an equally talented quarterback as a prep and Elliott’s staff recruited him as Mike Taliaferro and Fred Custardo’s back-up signal caller. He played sparingly the first two years of his college career as an offensive halfback and ultimately spoke to Elliott about getting more time on the opposite side of the line.

“When the coaching staff decided to move me to safety my junior year, I was glad to get the opportunity,” Acks said. “I figured that my best chance of making it as a pro would be as a safety.”

He didn’t disappoint them, playing nearly 500 minutes as a safety in an Illini defensive backfield with Donnelly, Phil Knell and Dick Kee.

Being chosen as an Associated Press first-team All-Big Ten honoree boosted Acks’ profile pro scouts. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1966 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings and in the 16th round of the AFL draft by the New York Jets, ultimately opting for Minnesota. Unfortunately, he was unable to land a position on the roster and spent the 1966 and part of the 1967 season playing for the Des Moines franchise of the Professional Football League of America.

Acks rejoined the Vikings as a taxi-squad member in 1968 and was picked up later that year by Atlanta in December, playing in the Falcons’ season finale. He stayed on Atlanta’s roster for three more seasons as a linebacker, starting 10 of the Falcons’ 14 games in 1971.

In 1972, the lowly New England Patriots brought Acks onto their roster and he started 27 consecutive games over the next two seasons as an outside linebacker.

Acks’ and other player’s careers were interrupted in July of 1974 by a 42-day NFL players strike, but he was finally picked up by Coach Dan Devine’s Green Bay Packers, rejoining former Illini teammate Don Hansen. Altogether, he wore a green and gold jersey for three seasons, playing in 40 games but starting only four games. Acks retired in March of 1977, hoping to become a coach, but that never materialized. Instead, he thrived as an investments advisor in Atlanta.

In 2012, he was inducted into the inaugural Carbondale Sports Hall of Fame. That charter class also included fellow Illini Stephen Bardo.

Acks and his wife, Judy, resided in Cornelius, N.C. for several years. He died on Nov. 21, 2023, at the age of 79.

Saturday: Tyler Rouse, football (42)

Sunday: Lynn Stewart, football (83)

Monday: Tonya Williams, track & field

Tuesday: Danielle Davis, softball

Wednesday: Ryan Nelligan, baseball (58)

Thursday: Dave Johnson, sports information director (63)

Friday: J.C Davis, football (23)

By Mike Pearson, author of Illinois Legends, Lists & Lore (Third Edition available online). Get more Illini birthdays, trivia and historical tidbits daily on “X” at IlliniLegends, on Facebook at SportsLegendsListsLore, and on LinkedIn. His website is www.SportsLLL.com.