He competed for the United States in the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium in the freestyle featherweight division, winning the gold medal.[2] He was the only American wrestler to win gold during the 1920 Olympics, and was given a hero's welcome in his hometown of Cuba, New York following his return from Antwerp.[3]
Ackerly was inducted into the Helms Foundation National Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1960 and Cornell's Hall of Fame in 1981.[4]