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Key Facts
Full name
William John Adams
Known as
Bill 'Bull' Adams
Nickname
Bull
Born
11 December 1900
Died
11 August 1973 (aged 72)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 23y 144d
Last game: 31y 267d
Height and weight
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 86 kg
Senior clubs
South Fremantle; Fitzroy; Northcote; Preston; North Launceston; Melbourne; Prahran
Jumper numbers
Fitzroy: 18
Melbourne: 8
Recruited from
South Fremantle (1924); Fitzroy (1927); Northcote (1929); North Launceston (1931); Prahran (1931)
Bill 'Bull' Adams
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Fremantle | WAFL | 1917, 1919-1922 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fitzroy | V/AFL | 1924-1926 | 51 | 17 | 0.33 | 55% | — | — | — | 4 |
| Northcote | VFA | 1927-1928 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Preston | VFA | 1929 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Launceston | NTFA | 1930 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Prahran | VFA | 1931 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Melbourne | V/AFL | 1931-1932 | 16 | 12 | 0.75 | 25% | 0.00 | — | 0.00 | 1 |
| WAFL | 1917, 1919-1922 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| V/AFL | 1924-1926, 1931-1932 | 67 | 29 | 0.43 | 48% | 0.00 | — | 0.00 | 5 | |
| VFA | 1927-1929, 1931 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| NTFA | 1930 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 1917, 1919-1922, 1924-1932 | 119 | 29 | 0.24 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only
AFL: 2,868th player to appear, 3,542nd most games played, 3,046th most goals kickedFitzroy: 307th player to appear, 246th most games played, 253rd most goals kickedMelbourne: 489th player to appear, 659th most games played, 396th most goals kicked
For Fitzroy Adams was the best, and no man in the game surpassed him. He turned innumerable rushes, and was always in the thick of it.¹
William Adams, who was known as 'Bill' in Western Australia, and 'Bull' during his time in Victoria, began his varied and colourful league football career with South Fremantle in 1917. He showed excellent form from the start, and was included in Western Australia's squad for the 1921 Perth carnival, although he failed to make the final eighteen for either of the state's matches.
In 1924, after 52 games with South he ventured east where he joined a Fitzroy team that was on the wane after reaching the two previous grand finals. Adams' tough-as-nails approach was ideally suited to the hurly burly world of the VFL, and he was particularly prominent for the Maroons during the 1924 round-robin finals series, which saw them ultimately placed 4th.
Although he only spent three seasons with Fitzroy, playing a total of 51 games, his commitment, tenacity and dedication made him an extremely popular player. In 1926, he was appointed club captain, and was also selected to represent the VFL. As a defender, he was extremely difficult to beat, and he was equally useful when taking a run on the ball.
The period from 1927 to 1929 saw 'Bull' Adams plying his trade in the VFA, first with Northcote, and then Preston. Sadly for him, however, when the Brickfielders emerged as a force in 1929 he had already left the fold, whereas Preston was still more than three decades away from achieving pre-eminence. Nevertheless, his performances as a player were often of the highest quality, and in 1929, with Preston, he won the coveted 'double' of club best and fairest award and leading goal kicker trophy (with 69 goals).
Adams spent the 1930 as playing coach of NTFA side North Launceston before being appointed playing coach of VFA club Prahran in 1931. However, midway through the year he returned for one final stint in the VFL with Melbourne, where he added 16 games over the course of that season and the next.
His final involvement in senior football, and easily the most dramatic, came from 1945 to 1948 when he coached South Melbourne. In his debut season, the red and whites reached the grand final, losing by 28 points after one of the most brutal and controversial matches in history (reviewed here). Unfortunately for Adams, South declined as a force after 1945, and when the team began the 1948 season in inept fashion he was replaced as coach by Jack Hale. Until the arrival of Rodney Eade nearly four decades later, however, William 'Bull' Adams remained the last South coach to steer his charges to a grand final.
Author - John Devaney, with updates by Andrew Gigacz