Bill Acker

Sacks	0.5
Fumble recoveries	1
	Stats at Pro Football Reference

Bill Acker
No. 67, 76, 75, 93
Position	Nose tackle
Personal information
Born	November 7, 1956 (age 69); Freer, Texas, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school	Freer
College	Texas
NFL draft	1980: 6th round, 142nd overall pick
Career history
	St. Louis Cardinals (1980–1981); Kansas City Chiefs (1982); Cincinnati Bengals (1983)*; Buffalo Bills (1983–1984); Kansas City Chiefs (1987);
	* Offseason or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
	1975 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion;
Career NFL statistics
Sacks
Sacks	0.5
Fumble recoveries	1
	Stats at Pro Football Reference

William Berry Acker Jr. (born November 7, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for six seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was drafted by the Cardinals in the 6th round of the 1980 NFL draft (#142 overall).

College career

Acker played college football at The University of Texas between 1975 and 1979, but missed the 1976 season.

In 1975, Acker was a linebacker, but he played in just one game as the Longhorns won a share of the Southwest Conference Championship, defeated Colorado in the 1975 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl and finished ranked #6/#7.

In 1976, he was redshirted to prepare him to move to defensive tackle.^[1]

In 1977, he helped the Longhorns win the Southwest Conference Championship, spend the last 6 weeks of the season ranked #1 and play for the National Championship in the 1978 Cotton Bowl Classic. They lost the game to Notre Dame after the Irish scored 21 points off of turnovers in the 2nd half, catapulting Notre Dame to the victory and the National Championship.

He helped the team win the 1978 Sun Bowl and finish ranked #9 while he was named Second-team (All-Southwest Conference. That season he tied the then-school record for sacks in a season with 14 and led the team in forced fumbles.^[2] He captained the 1979 team that finished the season ranked #12/#13 after losing the 1979 Sun Bowl to Washington.^[3]

In the four seasons he played for Texas, the Longhorns were never unranked. Acker left the school having gotten more sacks in his career than any other Longhorn prior to him and topped only by teammate Tim Campbell. He also had the 2nd most forced fumbles.^[2]

Professional career

Acker was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 1980 NFL draft, #142 overall.^[4]

Personal life

His brother Jim is a former MLB pitcher.^[5]

References

↑ Otero, Solo (October 28, 1976). "Grid Spotlights on Class AAs". Laredo Morning Times.
1 2 "Texas Football Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved February 14, 2025.
↑ "Texas Football History Honors" (PDF). Retrieved February 14, 2025.
↑ "1980 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
↑ "1987 Topps baseball card # 407".

This biographical article relating to an American football defensive lineman born in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[1] Otero, Solo (October 28, 1976). "Grid Spotlights on Class AAs". Laredo Morning Times.

[Record-2] 1 2 "Texas Football Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved February 14, 2025.

[3] "Texas Football History Honors" (PDF). Retrieved February 14, 2025.

[4] "1980 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2026.

[5] "1987 Topps baseball card # 407".

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