Frank Adams was a rugby union international who represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

and was the son of the former Mayor of Coventry and High Sheriff of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

, 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 is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, Lord Mayor famed for the definition of the 3Rs as "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic" (attributed to him from a speech made at a Board of education 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: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

,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 Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. 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 first ...

and made his international debut on 15 February 1875 at

The Oval The Oval, currently known 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 since ...

in the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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 Edward Temple Gurdon, often known as Temple Gurdon, was a rugby union international who represented England from 1878 to 1886. He also captained his country. Early life Temple Gurdon was born on 25 January 1854 in Barnham Broom, Norfolk. He w ...

. 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 wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

, 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 rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

serving in both the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. 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 novels. He was the grandson of Simon Adams of Ansty Hall, Warwickshire. He was educated at Westminst ...

(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 most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Frank 1853 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