Charles Ackerly
Charles Ackerly
Nickname: Ed
Year: '20
Team: Cornell

*CHARLES “ED” ACKERLY, Cornell ’20, placed 2nd, 1st, 2nd in the EIWA and was the USA’s only 1920 Olympic gold medalist in Antwerp, Belgium, competing at 132 pounds. To win that gold, he needed to avenge his 1920 league finals loss to Penn’s Sam Gerson – who settled for Olympic silver. In 1919, Ackerly had beaten Gerson in the EIWA semis. In those years, the rivals competed at 115 and 125, with Ed wrestling for renowned coach, Walter O’Connell.

      Ackerly was inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in 1960 and into Cornell’s Hall of Fame in 1981. He was a member of the Sphinx Head Society, the oldest senior leadership honor society at the University. Ed practiced law in Detroit, Michigan, then retired to Clearwater, Florida before his passing in 1982.