Joe Edward "Old Wagon Tongue" Adams (October 28, 1877 – October 8, 1952) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player and minor league manager. He was also known as "Old Wagon Tongue." A 6'0"

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

from Cowden,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Adams appeared in one game for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

on April 26, 1902, at the age of 24. He pitched four

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

and allowed nine

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. He also walked two players,

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

another, and gave up six runs (four earned), resulting in a career

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of 9.00. Adams also had two

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s, but did not reach base either time. Adams also played semi-pro baseball in both Illinois and Iowa. He later served as a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, and in 1911 managed future

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Ray Schalk Raymond William Schalk (August 12, 1892 – May 19, 1970) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox for the majority of his career. Known f ...

in his first professional season with the

Taylorville Christians __NOTOC__ Taylorville may refer to the following places: Australia *Taylorville, South Australia, a locality *Taylorville Station (reserve), a protected area in South Australia *Taylorville Station, South Australia, a locality Canada * Taylorville, ...

. Adams had previously managed the Pana Coal Miners in 1907 and the Shelbyville Queen Citys in 1908, both in the Eastern Illinois League. According to the 1908 ''

Spalding Guide There have been several Baseball Guides since the 19th century - the '' Spalding Guide'' and ''Reach Guide'' were the primary ones for decades. The two merged eventually and then were replaced by the Guides put out by ''The Sporting News''. The main ...

'', Adams was the "godfather" of the Eastern Illinois League, which began in 1907 in Pana. Besides Shalk, other baseball figures Adams was associated with included Hall of Famer

Frank Chance Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1877 – September 15, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Chance played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (initially named the "Orphans") and New York Yankees from 18 ...

and minor leaguers Bert King and Dick Kinsella. By 1932 Adams owned a restaurant in

Jackson, Missouri Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, United States. It is a principal city of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO- IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Jackson was 15,481 at the 2020 census ...

. Adams died in

Montgomery City, Missouri Montgomery City is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,811 at the 2020 census. History Montgomery was platted in 1853, taking its name from Montgomery County. A post office called Mon ...

at the age of 74 and is currently buried at Myers Cemetery in

Herrick, Illinois Herrick is a village in Shelby County, Illinois, United States. The population was 436 at the 2010 census. According to the 2010 census, Herrick has a total area of , all land. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 524 people, 197 ...

. Adams' nickname of "Wagon Tongue" has been regarded by multiple baseball writers as one of baseball's all-time great nicknames.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Joe 1877 births 1952 deaths People from Shelby County, Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Springfield Reds players Baseball players from Illinois Minor league baseball managers Shelbyville Queen Citys players Pana Coal Miners players Taylorville Christians players