Platt Adams (March 23, 1885 – February 27, 1961) was an American athlete. He competed in various events at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal in jumping events in 1912.Platt Adams
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Biography

Adams was born in

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population wa ...

. He had a brother,

Ben Adams Benjamin “Ben” Edward Stephen Adams (born 22 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter from Ascot, England, best known as a member of the British-Norwegian boy band A1. Early life Born in Ascot, Adams attended Westminster Under ...

, also an Olympic athlete. In 1908 he finished fifth in the triple jump competition as well as in the standing high jump event. In the standing long jump competition he finished sixth. He also participated in the discus throw event and in the Greek discus contest but in both events his result is unknown. Four years later he won the gold medal in the standing high jump and the silver medal in the standing long jump. In 1912 he also finished fifth in the triple jump competition and 23rd in the high jump event. At the same Olympics he competed in the baseball event which was held as demonstration sport. In January 1915, the Metropolitan Association of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

found Adams not guilty on charges of professionalism, having sold a prize or accepted cash for a medal in violation of his amateur status, in connection with a claim the Adams had traded a trophy he had received at an exhibition jump in exchange for pins. A resident of

South Orange South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

, Adams was serving in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

when he was named as the state's Chief Boxing Inspector in March 1923. He died at his home in the Normandy Beach section of

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County."A Roundup Of The Sports Information Of The Week"
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', March 13, 1961. Accessed April 13, 2013. "DIED: PLATT ADAMS, 75, winner of the 1912 Olympic standing high jump, at Normandy Beach, N.J. Adams won the now-discontinued Olympic event with a jump of 5 feet 4 inches."

References

External links

Find-A-Grave site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Platt 1885 births 1961 deaths American male long jumpers American male high jumpers American male triple jumpers Baseball players from New Jersey Olympic baseball players of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field People from Belleville, New Jersey People from South Orange, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Toms River, New Jersey Track and field athletes from New Jersey 20th-century American politicians Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Standing high jump