Frank Adams (1852-1932) was a rugby union international who represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from 1875 to 1879. He also captained his country.

Early life

Frank Adams was born in 1852, the second son of Frank Adams and Ellen Straith. His father was a Major General and was the son of the former Mayor of Coventry and High Sheriff of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, Henry Cadwallader Adams (of

Ansty Hall Ansty Hall is a 17th-century country house, located in the village of Ansty, and near Coventry and Rugby, Warwickshire, which is now a four star hotel operated by Exclusive Hotels. It is a Grade II* listed building surrounded by 8 acres of land ...

, Warwickshire) and Emma Curtis, daughter of Sir William Curtis, 1st Baronet of Cullonds Grove (1752–1829), the former Member of Parliament for the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

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famed for the definition of the 3Rs as "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic" (attributed to him from a speech made at a

Board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

dinner). The Adams possession of the family seat at Anstey dated back to 1799 with ''Burke's Peerage'' detailing the family lineage back as far as the Rev. Simon Adams, Rector of Aston Le Walls 1627 to 1673, himself the son of Simon Adams Frank's siblings were his older brother William Ormond (born 1847), and four younger siblings, Howard Cadwallader, Ellen Georgina, Emma Catherine, and Mary Beatrice. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

,Steve Lewis, ''One Among Equals'', page 50 (Vertical Editions:2008) a younger co-student of another England rugby captain Henry Lawrence.

Rugby union career

Adams played his club rugby for

Richmond F.C. Richmond Rugby Club is a rugby union club in Richmond, London, England. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs (of any code). It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's fir ...

and made his international debut on 15 February 1875 at

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

in the

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

match. The pitch was described as a quagmire and Adams was one of nine new caps to earn a victory in front of 3000 spectators. In total it took Adams four years to earn his seven caps and he was on the winning side on four occasions. He played his final two matches for England as captain, drawing with Scotland and then on 24 March 1879 at

beating

. After retiring from international rugby he continued to play for Richmond and was a member of the unbeaten 1886–87 team led by Edward Temple Gurdon. He was described as "a valuable player by reason of his weight strength and vigorous following up".Steve Lewis, ''One Among Equals'', page 51 (Vertical Editions:2008) Notably, Adams was playing first team rugby football in both the 20-aside and 15-aside eras of the game.

Career

Professionally, Adams was a shipping insurer, a career that took him to Australia, New Zealand and later to the US where he married. His punishing travel schedule put paid to his rugby playing career.

Personal life

Adams was married twice. His first wife was Rachel Seabrook of Charleston, South Carolina, US in 1904 he married Julie Henrietta Ogden Jones, the daughter of William Ogden Jones of

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

, New York. Together they had two sons, Frank Ormond Adams (born 1905) and William Ogden Cadwallader Adams (born 1907). Frank Ormond Adams became a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

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serving in both the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Adams family associations included his father's cousin

Henry Cadwallader Adams Reverend Henry Cadwallader Adams (4 November 1817 – 17 October 1899) was a 19th-century English cleric, schoolmaster and writer of children's literature, children's novels. He was the grandson of Simon Adams of Ansty Hall, Warwickshire. He wa ...

(1817–1899), the children's writer.

Death

Frank Adams died, aged 80, in 1932, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Frank 1852 births 1932 deaths England international rugby union players English rugby union players People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Newcastle upon Tyne Richmond F.C. players