Albert Earl "Jerry" Akers (November 1, 1887 – May 15, 1979) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player whose career spanned seven seasons, including a part of one in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

with the Washington Senators (1912). Akers was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. During his time in the majors, Akers compiled a

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

of 1–1 with a 4.87

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 11

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in five games, one

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

. Akers also played in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

with the Class-D Jacksonville Jacks/Lunatics/Braves (1906–1907, 1909), the Class-D

Kearney Kapitalists The Kearney Kapitalists were a Nebraska State League team based in Kearney, Nebraska, United States that played from 1910 to 1914. Major league baseball players that played for them include Jerry Akers, Win Noyes, Harry Berte, Rolla Mapel, Joe Lo ...

(1910), the Class-B Dubuque Dubs (1910), the Class-D Canton Highlanders (1912), the Double-A

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

(1912), the Double-A Rochester Hustlers (1912) and the Class-B

Peoria Distillers The Peoria Distillers were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1917. They played in the Western Association from 1894 to 1896; the Central League (baseball), Central League in 1900, 1904 and 1917; the Western League (1 ...

(1914). Although statistics for Akers in the minor leagues are incomplete, what is recorded is a record of 70–73 in 166 games. Akers batted and threw right-handed.

Professional career

Akers started his

in 1906 with the Class-D Jacksonville Jacks, who represented

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the ...

. The Jacks were a member of the

Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League The Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (or ''KITTY League'') was a Class D level minor league baseball circuit that went through six different periods of play between 1903 and 1955. The League hosted teams in 29 cities from the states of Ill ...

that season. That season, Akers compiled a

of 10–9 in 20 games, 19 starts. In 1907, the Jacksonville team changed their name to the "

Lunatics Lunatic is an antiquated term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or crazy—conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from ''lunaticus'' meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck". History The ter ...

" and joined the Iowa League of Professional Baseball Clubs. With Jacksonville that season, Akers went 15–15 in an unknown number of games. After an absence from the professional circuit in 1908, Akers re-joined the Jacksonville club, now renamed the "Braves". Jacksonville also switched leagues again, joining the

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, as it was essentially renamed from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association ran continuously through 1917. It was reorganized thirty yea ...

. In 31 games that season, Akers went 10–12. Jerry Akers autograph

During the 1910 season, Akers played for two teams. First, with the Class-D

of the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 a ...

. His pitching statistics were not kept during his time with the Kearney team. The second team Akers played for in 1910 was the Class-B Dubuque Dubs of the

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

. With the Dubuque club, Akers went 5–4 in 10 games. In 1911, Akers continued playing for Dubuque, who were renamed the "Hustlers". In 39 games, Akers went 19–12. His 19

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

tied him for seventh overall in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. In the 1911 Rule 5 draft, Akers was selected by the Washington Senators. Akers started the season at the Class-D level with the Canton Highlanders, who represented

Canton, Illinois Canton is the largest city in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,704 at the 2010 census, down from 15,288 as of the 2000 census. The Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area covers all of Fulton County; it is in turn, part ...

. During his stint with the Highlanders, Akers went 5–4 in 15 games. Akers was then called up to the Senators and Akers made his debut in

on May 4, 1912. With the Senators that season, Akers went 1–1 with a 4.87

and 11

s in five games, one start. He last appearance in the majors was on May 25, 1912. Also on that day, Akers was traded to the Double-A

along with pitcher

Charlie Becker Karl Becker (November 24, 1887 – December 28, 1968), billed as Charlie Becker, was a German American actor. He was 3'9" in height, and is probably best known for appearing as the Munchkinland Mayor in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). Billy Bl ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Bill Cunningham in exchange for

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Chick Gandil Charles Arnold "Chick" Gandil (January 19, 1888 – December 13, 1970) was a professional baseball player. He played for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox of the American League. He is best known as the ringle ...

. Akers went on to pitch for the Double-A Montreal Royals and the Double-A Rochester Hustlers in 1912. Combined between both

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

(IL) teams, he went 6–17 in 20 games. Along pitchers

Ed Lafitte Edward Francis Lafitte (April 7, 1886April 12, 1971) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers (1909–12), Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–15), and Buffalo Blues (1915). Born in New Orleans, Louisiana at his family's hom ...

and

Marty McHale Martin Joseph McHale (October 30, 1886 – May 7, 1979) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians in Major League Baseball between 1910 and 1916. He also performed prof ...

, Akers was third in the IL in losses. Akers did not pitch in professional baseball in 1913, but did return for the 1914 season, his last in his professional playing career. He joined the Class-D

that season, who represented

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

. Akers pitched 21 games that season.

Later life

Akers served in World War I. After his retirement from

, Akers resided in

Town 'n' Country, Florida Town 'n' Country is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 85,951 at the 2020 census. Within Town 'n' Country are located Bay Crest Park, Countryway, Rocky Creek, Sweetwater Creek. ...

, a suburb of

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

. He was married to Hazel Schuneman from November 12, 1931, until her death on March 29, 1958. Akers died on May 15, 1979, in

Bay Pines, Florida Bay Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,931 at the 2010 census. The community is home to Bay Pines Veterans Hospital and Bay Pines National Cemetery. Historic district The Bay ...

. He was buried at Garden Of Memories Cemetery in Tampa.

References

;General references # # ;Inline citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akers, Jerry 1887 births 1979 deaths People from Shelbyville, Indiana Sportspeople from the Indianapolis metropolitan area Baseball players from Indiana American military personnel of World War I Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Major League Baseball pitchers Jacksonville Jacks players Jacksonville Braves (Central Association) players Dubuque Dubs players Montreal Royals players Rochester Hustlers players Peoria Distillers players Canton Chinks players