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8 Marvin Akers

Name
Marvin Akers
Position
Forward
Class
Senior
Hometown (Last School)
Jeffersonville, IN (High)
Ht
6'3"
Wt
190
Seasons
1940-41, 1941-42, 1942-43
Birthday
March 23, 1921

Marvin Akers was a 1942 graduate of the University of Kentucky where he was an outstanding member of the 1941-43 basketball teams. He was the leading scorer on the 1942 Wildcat Team, which advanced to the NCAA Final Four tournament for the first time. He was named the All-Southern Basketball Team two times; he was an honorable mention All-American; and was selected for the all time U of K Legends team from 1930-1945.

Mr. Akers was a former member of the Board of Directors of the U of K National Alumni Association, and was the recipient of the Alumni Association Service Award in 1993.

He was a military veteran of the World Was II serving in the European Theater of operations as a combat officer with the 5th Infantry Division as part of the Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army. He was the recipient of the Purple Heart Medal.

After retiring from military service, he entered the mechanical construction field and was licensed in both plumbing and HVAC trades in Indiana and Kentucky.

He was employed 28 years by BMW Constructors as Contractor Manager, retiring in 1986. He also served ten years as a contractor representative on the Joint Apprenticeship Committee of the Mechanical contractors Association and Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union #440.

He was contract manager for Mechanical Construction for such local landmarks as Indiana Convention Center, Clowes Hall, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Christian Theological Seminary, Eli Lilly Dry Products and Western Electric Co.

He was a Kentucky Colonel, member of Omicron Delta Kappa Honorary Fraternity, life member of the Retired Officers Association, life member of Oriental Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, American Legion Post #34, and Riviera Club.

College Statistics:

Season G FG FT F OTS
1940-41 23 45 20 39 110
1941-42 25 85 19 38 189
1942-43 23 71 21 32 163
Total 71 201 60 109 462

 

Related Topics

Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter’s Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.

On This Day in UK Basketball History

On March 27, 1951, UK wins its third NCAA title, defeating Kansas State, 68-58, in the finals in Minneapolis.

 

On March 27, 1978, Jack “Goose” Givens scores 41 points as UK wins its fifth NCAA Championship, 94-88, over Duke in St. Louis.  Givens scored the last 16 points of the first half for Kentucky, bringing his first-half total up to 23 points. Givens poured in another 18 points in the second half.  Givens' helped lead the Wildcats to their first title in over 20 years.  More than 10,000 fans greet the team at Blue Grass Airport and 15,000 more celebrate at Memorial Coliseum

 

On March 27, 1993, Kentucky beat Florida State to advance to the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans. The victory completed a string of four games in which the Wildcats blitzed their Southeast Region opponents by an average of 31.0 points - the largest margin of victory by a team through four games en route to the Final Four.

 

On March 27, 2009, Billy Gillispie is fired as the Kentucky head basketball coach.

 

On March 27, 2011, freshman Brandon Knight scored 22 points and fourth-seeded Kentucky advanced to the Final Four for the first time since the 1998 title with a 76-69 win over second-seeded North Carolina in the East Regional final of the NCAA Tournament.  The last minute of the game became the DeAndre Liggins show, as he blocked a shot on defense, hit a game-winning three-pointer on offense, then blocked another shot on defense to seal the victory. He finished with 12 points..

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

March 27, 1885

Arthur Donan

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