Jack Adams

Jack Adams
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1959
Born	(1894-06-14)June 14, 1894 Fort William, Ontario, Canada
Died	May 1, 1968(1968-05-01) (aged 73) Detroit, Michigan, United States
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Toronto Arenas Vancouver Millionaires Toronto St. Patricks Ottawa Senators
Playing career	1917–1927

John James "Jack" Adams (June 14, 1894 – May 1, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He was a Hall of Fame player during a 10-year professional career with Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa.

He is best known for his 36-year association with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League as head coach and as a general manager. He held the record of winningest coach in Red Wings history before being surpassed by Mike Babcock in 2014. He later became the first president of the Central Professional Hockey League. Adams is a nine-time Stanley Cup champion, and the only person to have won the Stanley Cup as a player, coach, and general manager.^[1]

Playing career

Born in Fort William, Ontario, Adams began his career with the Fort William Maple Leafs in 1914 of the NMHL, and played for the Calumet Miners a year later. In 1916, he joined the intermediate Peterborough 247th Battalion of the Ontario Hockey Association and the next season moved up to the senior Sarnia Sailors. His brother, Bill also was a professional hockey player.

Adams turned pro in 1917 upon joining the Toronto Arenas of the NHL, earning the reputation as a physical, bruising player. Although he participated in the NHL playoffs, he did not play in any games in the 1918 Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Millionaires when the Torontos won the trophy.

In December 1919 he was lured west to join the Millionaires, where he flourished as a player, leading the league in scoring in 1921–22, when he centred a line with Alf Skinner and Smokey Harris. He played in two Stanley Cup series for Vancouver, and was the star of the 1922 series, scoring 6 goals in 5 games.

Coming off that season, he returned east to rejoin the Arenas, now renamed the Toronto St. Patricks, and played four seasons on a line with Babe Dye. Adams was the team's leading scorer in 1925–26.

The next season, he joined the Ottawa Senators, finishing his playing career as it began, with a second Stanley Cup championship. His NHL stats included 83 goals, 32 assists in 173 games played.

Adams was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959 as a player.

Coaching and managing career

Soon after his retirement, he became coach and general manager of the second-year Detroit Cougars at the suggestion of NHL president Frank Calder.

At first, the team struggled under his leadership, making the playoffs only two times in his first five years at the helm. A name change to the Detroit Falcons in 1930 did not improve the team's performance. Detroit's fortunes changed in 1932, when Chicago grain merchant James E. Norris bought the Falcons and renamed them the Detroit Red Wings. Norris gave the Red Wings the financing they needed to become an NHL power. Adams led the team to three Stanley Cups before stepping down in 1947 to concentrate on his duties as general manager. His coaching career tallied 413 wins, 390 losses and 161 ties, including a 52–52–1 coaching record in the playoffs. Most of those wins came without a contract; when Norris bought the team he'd torn up Adams' contract and given him a year on his job on probation and a handshake. As it turned out, one year became 15 years. He was the winningest coach in Red Wings history until Mike Babcock passed him late in the 2013-14 season.

By 1947, Adams had built a farm system which produced Alex Delvecchio, Terry Sawchuk, Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, Sid Abel, and most notably Gordie Howe. It was this core group of players that led the Red Wings to seven straight regular-season first-place finishes from 1948 to 1955, along with four more Cups—making Adams the only man to have his name on the Stanley Cup as a player, coach and general manager.

Adams was known for being wary of letting his teams get complacent, and was not shy about orchestrating blockbuster trades to keep them on their toes—a philosophy which won him the nickname "Trader Jack." His impulse was slightly restrained after Norris died in 1952 and was succeeded by his daughter, Marguerite Norris. She and Adams never got along very well. While she could have summarily fired Adams since he was still without a contract, she did not do so.

However, Marguerite was forced to turn over control of the team to her younger brother, Bruce Norris, in 1955 after losing an intrafamily struggle. Bruce voiced full confidence in Adams, and the trading resumed anew. During their seven-season run in first place, many thought the Red Wings would rule the league for years to come. However, just days after Bruce took over the presidency, Adams traded away eight players from the 1955 champions. Years later, Howe wrote that Adams' reasoning for the trades still "def(ied) explanation," and argued that the trades opened the door for the Montreal Canadiens to win five Cups in a row (and nine in 14 years). Although the Red Wings remained competitive until the late 1960s, Howe believed the trades "sapped us of the firepower we needed to win another championship."^[2]

In 1957, Adams traded Ted Lindsay to Chicago because of union-organizing efforts and had other players affiliated with the effort sent to the minors. As part of the union busting efforts, Adams spread fake rumours attributing Lindsay as criticizing his former teammates. Adams also showed a fake contract to Detroit reporters, claiming Lindsay was being paid $25,000 per year, when he was being paid $13,000.^[3] These efforts are dramatized in the TV movie Net Worth.

The efforts resulted in most of the core of this team leaving town and eventually led to Adams being fired in 1963. His 36-year tenure as general manager is the longest in NHL history. He served 31 of those years while still on probation; after 1932 he never signed a contract with the Wings. His ouster from the Red Wings also ended 46 consecutive years at the major-league level in hockey.

Adams had also been involved in an incident in 1942, when he had an outburst due to his belief of biased penalty calling, which led to a fit of rage and ultimately a referee getting punched in game three of the 1942 Stanley Cup Final, thus becoming the first coach to be suspended in a Final.

In 1963, Adams became founding president of the Central Hockey League, a post he held until his death at his desk in 1968.

Awards and achievements

• Won the Stanley Cup as a player with the Toronto Arenas in 1918 and with the Ottawa Senators in 1927.
• Won the Stanley Cup as General Manager and Head Coach of the Detroit Red Wings in 1936, 1937, and 1943.
• Won the Stanley Cup as General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955.
• Named in his honour, the Jack Adams Award was introduced in 1974 and is awarded annually to the most outstanding coach in the National Hockey League.
• Was the first recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1966.
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959.
• First All-Star Team Coach in 1937 & 1943.
• Second All-Star Team Coach in 1945.

Statistics

* Stanley Cup Champion.

Sources:^[4][5]

Coaching statistics

 Stanley Cup champions    Division champions    Led league in points # 

Adams' career head coaching statistics with the Detroit NHL franchise

NHL season	Franchise season	Division	Regular season[6][7][8][9]							Postseason
			Finish	GC	W	L	T	Pts	Win%	GC	W	L	T	Win%	Result
1927–28	1927–28[a]	American[b]	4th	44	19	19	6	44	.500	—	—	—	—	—	Did not qualify
1928–29	1928–29	American	3rd	44	19	16	9	47	.534	2	0	2	0	.000	Lost Quarterfinals to Toronto Maple Leafs, 2–7 (TG)[10]
1929–30	1929–30	American	4th	44	14	24	6	34	.386	—	—	—	—	—	Did not qualify
1930–31	1930–31[c]	American	4th	44	16	21	7	39	.443	—	—	—	—	—	Did not qualify
1931–32	1931–32	American	3rd	48	18	20	10	46	.479	2	0	1	1	.250	Lost Quarterfinals to Montreal Maroons, 1–3 (TG)[11]
1932–33	1932–33[d]	American	2nd	48	25	15	8	58	.604	4	2	2	0	.500	Won Quarterfinals vs. Montreal Maroons, 5–2 (TG) Lost Semifinals to New York Rangers, 3–6 (TG)[12]
1933–34	1933–34	American	1st	48	24	14	10	58	.604	9	4	5	0	.444	Won Semifinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 3–2 Lost Stanley Cup Finals to Chicago Black Hawks, 1–3[13]
1934–35	1934–35	American	4th	48	19	22	7	45	.469	—	—	—	—	—	Did not qualify
1935–36	1935–36	American	1st	48	24	16	8	56#	.583	7	6	1	0	.536	Won Semifinals vs. Montreal Maroons, 3–0 Won Stanley Cup Finals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 3–1[14]
1936–37	1936–37	American	1st	48	25	14	9	59#	.615	10	6	4	0	.600	Won Semifinals vs. Montreal Canadiens, 3–2 Won Stanley Cup Finals vs. New York Rangers, 3–2[15]
1937–38	1937–38	American	4th	48	12	25	11	35	.365	—	—	—	—	—	Did not qualify
1938–39	1938–39	—[e]	5th	48	18	24	6	42	.438	6	3	3	0	.500	Won Quarterfinals vs. Montreal Canadiens, 2–1 Lost Semifinals to Toronto Maple Leafs, 1–2[16]
1939–40	1939–40	—	5th	48	16	26	6	38	.396	5	2	3	0	.400	Won Quarterfinals vs. New York Americans, 2–1 Lost Semifinals to Toronto Maple Leafs, 0–2[17]
1940–41	1940–41	—	3rd	48	21	16	11	53	.552	9	4	5	0	.444	Won Quarterfinals vs. New York Rangers, 2–1 Won Semifinals vs. Chicago Black Hawks, 2–0 Lost Stanley Cup Finals to Boston Bruins, 0–4[18]
1941–42	1941–42	—	5th	48	19	25	4	42	.438	12	7	5	0	.583	Won Quarterfinals vs. Montreal Canadiens, 2–1 Won Semifinals vs. Boston Bruins, 2–0 Lost Stanley Cup Finals to Toronto Maple Leafs, 3–4[19]
1942–43	1942–43	—	1st	50	25	14	11	61#	.610	10	8	2	0	.800	Won Semifinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4–2 Won Stanley Cup Finals vs. Boston Bruins, 4–0[20]
1943–44	1943–44	—	2nd	50	26	18	6	58	.580	5	1	4	0	.200	Lost Semifinals to Chicago Black Hawks, 1–4[21]
1944–45	1944–45	—	2nd	50	31	14	5	67	.670	14	7	7	0	.500	Won Semifinals vs. Boston Bruins, 4–3 Lost Stanley Cup Finals to Toronto Maple Leafs, 3–4[22]
1945–46	1945–46	—	4th	50	20	20	10	50	.500	5	1	4	0	.200	Lost Semifinals to Boston Bruins, 1–4[23]
1946–47	1946–47	—	4th	60	22	27	11	55	.458	5	1	4	0	.200	Lost Semifinals to Toronto Maple Leafs, 1–4[24]
Totals				964	413	390	161	987	.512	105	52	52	1	.500

Notes

• ^a From the 1926–27 season through the 1929–30 season, the Detroit NHL franchise was known as the Cougars.^[6][7]
• ^b From the 1926–27 season through the 1937–38 season, the Detroit NHL franchise played in the American Division.^[7][8][9]
• ^c From the 1930–31 season through the 1931–32 season, the Detroit NHL franchise was known as the Falcons.^[6][8]
• ^d Since the 1932–33 season, the Detroit NHL franchise has been known as the Red Wings.^[6][9]
• ^e From the 1938–39 season through the 1966–67 season, the NHL had no divisions.^[25]

See also

List of Detroit Red Wings award winners
List of Detroit Red Wings seasons

References

• Coleman, Charles L. The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc. p. 572.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database

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