 Adams in 1940, while playing for theCleveland Rams | |||||||||||||
| No. 34, 27, 42, 71 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Tackle End | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1915-10-24)October 24, 1915 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | October 28, 1990(1990-10-28) (aged 75) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | South (Cleveland) | ||||||||||||
| College | Ohio | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1939: 12th round, 103rd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Chester Frank Adams (October 24, 1915 – October 27, 1990) was an American professionalfootball player who was atackle andplacekicker for 10 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) andAll-America Football Conference (AAFC), primarily with theCleveland Rams andCleveland Browns. He was selected to the NFL'sAll-Star game twice. In 1978, he was inducted into theGreater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.
Adams grew up in Cleveland and playedcollege football for theOhio Bobcats. After graduating, he played four seasons for theCleveland Rams beforeWorld War II forced the team to suspend operations in 1943. Adams was put out on loan to theGreen Bay Packers, where he played for a year before joining theU.S. Army. When Adams returned from duty, the Rams had moved to Los Angeles, and he signed up to play for theCleveland Browns, a team under formation in the AAFC. The Rams sued to prevent him from playing for the Browns, but Adams won. He stayed with Cleveland between 1946 and 1948, a span during which the team won three AAFC championships. He was then traded to theBuffalo Bills, where he stayed for a year. He played for the NFL'sNew York Yanks for a final year before retiring.
Adams was born inCleveland, Ohio and attended the city'sSouth High School. After graduating, he went toOhio University inAthens, Ohio.[1][2] He was named to the All-Ohio second team in 1937 and the All-Ohio first team in 1938 as a tackle.[3]
Adams was selected in 1939 by theCleveland Rams with the 103rd pick of the1939 NFL draft and played for the team until 1942.[4][1] He was selected to play in the NFL'sAll-Star game in 1941 and 1942.[5][6] Adams then played one season for theGreen Bay Packers on loan from the Rams after the Rams suspended operations duringWorld War II.[1][7] Adams joined theU.S. Army in 1944 and served for 30 months until his discharge in the summer of 1946.[7]
Adams, who was aplacekicker as well as a guard, signed a contract to play for the Rams in 1946, but Rams ownerDan Reeves moved the team toLos Angeles after the 1945 season.[7] Adams refused to move to Los Angeles with the team, and the Rams sued him in federal court after he signed with theCleveland Browns, a team under formation in the newAll-America Football Conference (AAFC).[7] Adams claimed that he had no obligation under his contract to play for the Rams because the team was described as the Cleveland Rams, and its name had changed to theLos Angeles Rams following the move.[7] The Rams filed an injunction in August 1946 to prevent him from playing for the Browns.[8]
Later that month, Adams testified before a federal court that he injured his leg in theCollege All-Star Game while playing for Green Bay in 1945 and was not, as the Rams claimed, a player of "unique ability".[9]Red Conkright, a one-time Rams assistant who moved to the Browns' staff, testified that Adams was an "erratic" kicker and "at present a second-team player".[9] At the end of the month, federal judge Emerich Freed denied the Rams' injunction, allowing Adams to play for the Browns. The judge rejected the Rams' contention that Adams had signed to play for Reeves, not a specific team. He ruled the Cleveland Rams had ceased to exist, and that Adams therefore had no obligation to fulfill a contract with the Los Angeles Rams.[10] Four other former Rams players joined the Browns along with Adams:Tommy Colella,Don Greenwood,Mike Scarry andGaylon Smith.[11]
In the Browns' first season in 1946, Adams played on the line and shared kicking duties withLou Groza. In a 66–14 win that December over theAAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers, he scored a touchdown on a blocked punt and kicked five extra points.[12] The Browns advanced to the AAFC championship that year, and Adams, who had played primarily at right defensive tackle, was asked to do the team's place-kicking after Groza suffered a sprained ankle in an earlier game.[2] The Browns beat the Yankees 14–9 in the championship game.[13]
Adams continued to play as a defensive tackle and a backup to Groza in 1947.[14][15] Then 32 years old, he suffered neck and back injuries in a game against Los Angeles. He re-injured his neck in the championship game, another win over the Yankees.[16]
Adams was part of a Cleveland team that won all of its games in 1948 and ended the season by beating theBuffalo Bills for a third straight championship.[17] The Browns traded Adams before the 1949 season to the Bills in a five-player deal.[18] Cleveland coachPaul Brown said the team needed to stay fresh after winning three championships.[18] Adams played a year in Buffalo, mainly as a kicker.[1] He then played a final year for theNew York Yanks of theNational Football League.[1]
Adams was inducted into theGreater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.[19] He died on October 27, 1990.[1]
