Paul L. "Sparky" Adams (April 5, 1921 – July 4, 1986) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

, and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at Baldwin–Wallace College—now known at

Baldwin Wallace University Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio, United States. Established in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin, it merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace ...

—in

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,545 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A western suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. Berea is home ...

from 1954 to 1957, compiling a record of 8–25–1. In 1958, he stepped down to become an assistant football coach, so he could focus his roles as the head cross country and track coach at Baldwin–Wallace, positions that he held until his retirement in 1983. Adams was also and assistant

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and a

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

coach at Baldwin–Wallace. A native of

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city in Licking County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located east of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus at the junction of the forks of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 United ...

, Adams attended Baldwin–Wallace, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track, before graduating in 1943. He served in Third Army of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, led by Gernal

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

, during

World War II 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 ...

, earning a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

before his discharge in 1945. Adams died at the age of 65, on July 4, 1986, of an apparent heart attack while on vacation in Miller Lake, Ontario.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Paul Place of birth missing 1921 births 1986 deaths American football quarterbacks Guards (basketball) Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets football coaches Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets football players Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets men's basketball coaches Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Ohio Muskingum Fighting Muskies football coaches Muskingum Fighting Muskies men's basketball coaches College cross country coaches in the United States College swimming coaches in the United States College tennis coaches in the United States College track and field coaches in Ohio United States Army personnel of World War II People from Newark, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Basketball players from Ohio Track and field athletes from Ohio Tennis coaches from Ohio