The Water Boy: From the Sidelines to the Owner's Box: Inside the CFL, the XFL, and the NFL

In 1953, Bobby Ackles became the first water boy in the BC Lions Football Club. Today he is the team’s President and CEO. His star rose quickly from the very beginning, taking him from the sidelines to the top job and three Grey Cup championships. An integral member of the Lions’ organization for over 50 years, Bobby Ackles has seen and done it all in the extraordinary world of professional football.

Not only did he go from lowly Water Boy to the executive suite in the CFL, Ackles also spent fifteen years in the NFL--six seasons with the mighty Dallas Cowboys, and then on to the Arizona Cardinals, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Miami Dolphins—and he even served a brief stint in the short-lived XFL as Vice President and General Manager of the Las Vegas Outlaws. As the only man to hold executive positions in all three professional leagues, Ackles offers up a unique perspective on pro football in North America.

The Water Boy is Bob Ackles’ engaging memoir, a candid, personal account of his life and his amazing career in the game of football. From his humble beginnings, personally and professionally, Ackles has risen to become one of the most respected executives in football and in sports in general, both in Canada and the United States.

With veteran journalist Ian Mulgrew, Ackles shares his rich, expansive life openly, with humour and amazing insights into the sport of football and its personalities, his long-running love affair with his wife Kay, his grasp on leadership and running a successful business.

The Water Boy is a fascinating look inside the locker rooms and the owners’ boxes of the football world in North America, and an engaging telling of a life lived to its fullest.

Bobby Ackles is President and CEO of the BC Lions Football Club and has been an integral part of the team for over 50 years. From his earliest days as the team’s first Water Boy, Bob rose through the ranks to become Director of Football Development, Assistant General Manager, and was the Lions’ General Manager for 11 years. After 34 years with the Lions, Ackles joined the Dallas Cowboys as Vice President of Pro Personnel and then Vice President of Player Personnel. He has also been an executive with the Phoenix Cardinals, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Miami Dolphins of the NFL, as well as Vice President and General Manager of the Las Vegas Outlaws. This put Bob in the history books as the only man to hold executive positions in the CFL, NFL and XFL. He rejoined the BC Lions in 2002, promising to deliver another Grey Cup within five years. This promise was fulfilled a year early when the Lions captured the Cup in 2006. Ackles is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame. He has been honoured with the Jack Diamond Award by the Jewish Community Centre as Sportsman of the Year and is a Schenley Award of Excellence winner. He sits on the board of directors for the Vancouver YMCA, and he was presented the President’s Award for Excellence for his fundraising work for Nanook House. Bob and his wife, Kay, live in Vancouver.

Ian Mulgrew is currently a senior feature writer and legal affairs columnist for The Vancouver Sun. Ian’s work is regularly featured in national magazines, and several film and television companies have optioned his stories. He has co-produced and hosted numerous television programs ranging from current affairs to music. He is the author, co-author, or ghostwriter of six other books.