Mainer Ackerman host of ‘American Sportsman’ Outdoorsman parlays experience with L.L. Bean into TV career

Eight years ago, Tom Ackerman was in his 18th year at L.L. Bean and working as a product manager, a dream job for an outdoorsman like him. This outdoorsman, however, had yet another dream.

Ackerman’s duties while developing, testing and marketing outdoor gear took him to some of the best hunting and fishing destinations in the world, so the longtime Topsham resident seized on the idea to start a travel company.

He left L.L. Bean in 1997 to start up Classic Connections, a company specializing in worldwide fishing and hunting adventure travel packages. Shortly after getting his company established and thriving, the Paterson, N.J., native’s career path took another turn.

“Through an acquaintance I met at L.L. Bean, I got a job with ESPN booking locations for their New American Sportsman shows,” Ackerman said.

The first season of the revamped show, which featured a celebrity host on each episode, was successful and Ackerman’s services were retained for a second season.

“Booking locations got me a place at the table,” Ackerman said. “I worked my tail off booking locations for them and when you make your living with the outdoors, you notice certain things that aren’t exactly right, so I’d call and tell them about things.”

The 51-year-old Ackerman’s input on the show grew bit by bit. Eventually he got involved in conferences during which network and show executives talked about the show’s format, potential guests and locations.

“We were talking about the format for the next year and we knew Deion [Sanders] wasn’t going to host, so they had to find someone,” Ackerman said. “They wanted an outdoors person, extrovert and someone with natural, intellectual curiosity. Well, that was me, but I didn’t dare volunteer myself.”

A few days later, a friend at ESPN called and told Ackerman he thought he could do it.

“They got me an audition, so I did it and they said the camera likes me,” he said. “I was thrilled because I thought it would be a real honor to host the show I grew up watching with my dad. That’s the thing that produced my lifelong love of hunting and fishing.”

Ackerman signed on last April to host this season’s 10-show run and traveled from Sebasco Harbor to places like Alaska, Idaho, Texas, Florida, and Panama. His first show was a Maine fishing trip with college basketball coach Bobby Knight and Boston Celtics NBA Hall of Famer John Havlicek.

“The last time coach Knight and I were together was September 2000 when he was fired by Indiana and it was just the two of us when he got word he was fired,” said Ackerman. “When we were first introduced, I told him I had met him before, but he didn’t remember.

“When he was coach at Army, he ran a clinic I was at and I told him 30 years ago he turned me into a nail-biter and bed-wetter until I was 20. I said ‘Well, you’re on my turf now so get in the boat!’ We got along just great after that.”

Ackerman finished the last show taping of this season almost three weeks ago. It was a sport fishing excursion off the coast of Panama with actor-director Jason Priestley.

Each half-hour show premiers Sundays at 11 a.m. and is repeated several times on ESPN and ESPN2. Other shows involve alligator hunting with comedian Colin Quinn and bear hunting with former NFL running back Herschel Walker.

ESPN executives seem very happy with the show and its ratings, said Ackerman.

“I feel pretty good I’ll be back for another season,” he said.

Ackerman, who lives in Topsham with wife Cindy and four children (Chris, Colin, Sara, and T.J.), said his travel schedule is hectic, but the fun he has while taping the shows makes it all worthwhile.

“We went white-tail deer hunting in Carizzo Springs, Texas, with Florida Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett, who used to play for the Portland Sea Dogs,” said Ackerman. “He loves Portland. He said if there was a way he could live in Portland while playing in the major leagues, he would.”

Beckett, a Spring, Texas, native, had a blast on the trip. Besides bagging a deer, he also played pool with Ackerman and threw him some pitches during an impromptu batting session at a private ranch.

“One day I’m swinging at pitches thrown by a major leaguer and the next I’m playing football with Herschel Walker,” Ackerman said. “How could I not love this job?”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net