Wally Akers

Walter William George Akers (1917–1976) was an English professional footballer either side of the Second World War.

Wally Akers
Personal information
Full name Walter William George Akers
Date of birth 1917
Place of birth West Auckland, England
Date of death 1976
Position(s) Outside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1934–1935 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
1935 Newport County 0 (0)
1935–1937 Bournemouth 15 (4)
1937–1939 Chelsea 0 (0)
1939–1946 Mansfield Town 0[A] (0)
1946–1948 Gillingham 40 (20)
– Corby Town
– Goole Town
Teams managed
1950–1958 Corby Town
1958–1961 Kettering Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[2] In 1948, he moved on to Corby Town and later played for Goole Town.[1]

Managerial career

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.[3] He later managed Kettering Town.[4]

Notes

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
  1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 – 1939. Soccerdata. p. 7. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  2. Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. pp. 56–57. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
  3. "Club History". Corby Town F.C. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  4. "Wally Akers". PoppiesFans.com. Retrieved 7 August 2010.


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