Australian Football

Charles Adams made his debut with Port Adelaide when league football resumed after the Great War in 1919, and immediately caught the eye as a follower of considerable ability and obvious mental fortitude. His eight-season senior career saw him play a total of 94 games, including the winning challenge final of 1921 against Norwood. 

Voted the Magpies’ best and fairest player in both 1920 and 1921, he came within an ace of winning the 1921 Magarey Medal when he featured in a three way tie with South Adelaide’s Dan Moriarty and ‘Wat’ Scott of Norwood, only for the umpires, having been convened to adjudicate on the matter, to elect to bestow the award on the South player. (The rules in force at the time allowed for only one winner.) 77 years later the SANFL bestowed retrospective awards on all players who had originally lost out either in this manner, or on a countback of votes, and so the name of Charles Adams was belatedly included in the oldest official ‘hall of fame’ in top level football.

Author - John Devaney