Charles Francis Adams (October 18, 1876 – October 2, 1947) was an American businessman and sports promoter who was the owner of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

Suffolk Downs Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to crea ...

, and The First National

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

chain.

Early life

Adams was born in Newport, Vermont on October 18, 1876 to Frank and Elizabeth (Benoit) Adams. His family struggled financially and at a young age Adams took a job as a chore boy at a corner grocery store to help subsidize the family's income. As a teenager Adams purchased logs for his father's sawmill.

Grocery career

After graduating from Jenney Business College in

Enosburgh, Vermont Enosburgh is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, in the United States. The population was 2,810 at the 2020 census. Enosburgh includes the village of Enosburg Falls and the settlements of Bordoville, East Enosburgh, North Enosburgh, Sampsonvill ...

, Adams moved to

Springfield, Vermont Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,062. History The land currently recognized as Springfield is the traditional land of the Pennacook and Abenaki people. One of the ...

where he worked for his uncle Oscar Adams' wholesale grocery business. After working for a time as a traveling grocer and tobacco salesman, Adams moved to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, where he became treasurer of the New England Maple Syrup Company. He later worked for the Fitzgerald, Hubbard & Company banking and brokerage firm. Adams left Fitzgerald, Hubbard & Company to work for the John T. Connor Company, which later became the First National Store Finast chain.

Sports

Boston Bruins

Adams was an avid hockey fan, watching amateur hockey in Boston and traveling to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

to watch professional hockey. After a scandal involving Boston amateur hockey players resulted in many Boston fans becoming disenchanted with amateur hockey, Adams decided to try to bring professional hockey to the United States. On November 1, 1924, Adams was awarded the Bruins franchise for $15,000. In 1926 Adams bought the entire

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

from Frank Patrick and

Lester Patrick Curtis Lester Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (Western Hockey League after 1924), and ...

for $300,000. This gave the Bruins the rights to

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, Duke Keats, and

Frank Boucher François Xavier Boucher (October 7, 1901 – December 12, 1977) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. Boucher played the forward position for the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

. To ensure the team had a fitting arena to play in, Adams guaranteed $500,000 toward the construction of the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (la ...

. Under his leadership the Bruins won their first

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. In 1936 he transferred his stock to his son Weston Adams and minority owners

Art Ross Arthur Howe Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck ...

and Ralph Burkard.

Boston Braves

On May 15, 1927, Charles Adams bought out the shares of Albert H. Powell to become a minority owner and vice-president of the National League baseball club, the Boston Braves. In 1935, after Emil Fuchs' attempt to revive interest in the team by signing

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

failed, Adams demanded that Fuchs either step down as President or buy out his shares. On July 31, 1935, Emil Fuchs forfeited his shares to Charles F. Adams, who planned to sell the team as soon as possible. On November 26, the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

took over control of the Braves due to the club's failure to fulfill its contractual obligations. The club was awarded to Bob Quinn on December 10. Commissioner

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his ...

did not allow Adams to be part of the new ownership group due to his stake in

Suffolk Downs

Adams was the head of Eastern Racing Association, the syndicate that founded Suffolk Downs. He remained involved with the race track until 1945, when he sold his shares for $4 million.

Death and legacy

Adams died in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on October 2, 1947, 16 days before his 71st birthday, after a long illness. He was elected to the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

in 1960. The NHL's

Adams Division The NHL's Adams Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Adams, the founder of the Boston Bruins. It is the forerunner of the ...

was formed in 1974 as part of the

Prince of Wales Conference A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honor of Adams. The Bruins were a member of the Adams Division for the entirety of its existence, winning nine division titles and appearing in four

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

in that time. It was succeeded by the Northeast Division, which was dissolved with the league's 2013 realignment, and can be considered the fore-runner of the NHL's current Atlantic Division. Adams was inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Bio
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References

External links

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Northland Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Charles 1876 births 1947 deaths Boston Braves executives Boston Braves owners Boston Bruins executives Boston Bruins owners Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Adams, Charles Francis People from Orleans County, Vermont Ice hockey people from Vermont Stanley Cup champions Suffolk Downs executives