Described as a good and popular player, he died when the boat he was travelling in capsized in the Mississippi River, and not knowing how to swim, he drowned.

[4] He began his professional baseball career in 1882 when he joined a club located in Altoona, having played for a local non-professional team the year before.

[5] On May 11, 1887, he and two of his Duluth teammates, Bill Barnes and Billy Earle, were paddling in a rowboat on the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Barron's Island.

[7][8] Barnes and Earle quickly swam to shore, but Ake, who did not know how to swim, hoisted himself on the overturned boat.

[6] Ake decided to attempt to swim ashore before Barnes and Earle could secure a rescue skiff,[7] but after a couple strokes, he began to shout for help, slipping under the water, and drowned.