I read somewhere recently that the Big 10 may be doing away with their conferences soon after USC and UCLA join next year and just go with the top 2 records. It may possibly lead to back to back games for OSU and Michigan…..one for The Game and one for the Big 10 title, which would be the case this year.
Too soon Gid. He was at over 3700 games and became part of the team. I went to my first game back in 1977 and he was there. I usually went to 4-5 games a year in the summers (1977-1986) when I came to visit my Dad. Went to a few games here and there from 1990 - 1993 and he was always there. I had 8 games a year 1994-2006 including a couple of World Series tickets and an All-Star game, when I split two season tickets with friends. And he was at every single game I went to, He is a huge memory for me. You knew the sound of the drum on the TV, you knew that sound on the radio, and you stood and clapped and banged your seat at the game. He was as much a part of the team as any player or coach on that field. And at times he was the lone ray of light and hope in some dreadful games and seasons. He WAS Cleveland. And he reminds me of my Dad and all those games we went to and stayed up late watching games on TV and talking baseball long distance on the phone when I flew home at summer's end. He was Cleveland and summer time and good times with my Dad and with my kids when I took them to games. From the article I posted the link for: While many of the current Guardians players never played with Adams providing the backbeat of a game, Sandy Alomar spent 11 years playing for the Indians with the sound of Adams’ bass drum echoing throughout Municipal Stadium and Progressive Field. Not to mention the 13 years he served as an Cleveland coach. “My condolences to John’s family,” said Alomar in a text. “Playing in front of John was a unique baseball experience. That was all we knew as players and that’s a fact. John was going to be there no matter what. He was a genuine fan. We’ll miss him and he’ll always be in our hearts.” Carlos Baerga, who played parts of seven seasons in Cleveland, said, “John was great because he kept everyone in the ballpark alert. He made us play harder. He was our cheerleader and our good luck charm. Condolences to his family.” Center fielder Kenny Lofton said after he’d take his warmup throws in the first inning at Progressive Field, he turn around and try to hit Adams’ drum in the bleachers. “He’d put the drum out there as a target and I’d throw it up there,” said Lofton, who played 10 years in Cleveland. “It was a thing that he and I always did. I mean John was fan. He was there rain or shine. “That drum beat it was powerful. It felt like, ‘We are the Cleveland Indians.’ It took you to a higher place because somebody was trying to take something away from you. With that beat going on, it lifted our spirits.”
Drummer John Adams: To many fans, he was bigger than the Guardians/Tribe players – Terry Pluto Updated: Jan. 31, 2023, 1:36 p.m.| Published: Jan. 31, 2023, 8:34 a.m. John Adams beats his drum during a Cleveland playoff game in 2016. Cleveland's John Adams beats his drum from his bleacher seat at Progressive Field. 2,296 shares By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio – After the death of John Adams, I was talking to my friend, Skip. “I’m in my 50s,” he said. “The players would come and go, but John Adams was always there.” That was true for many Tribe/Guardians fans. Adams began beating his drum for the team in 1973. The beat continued in the bleachers at two different stadiums until the end of the 2019 season. I spent several hours with Adams in the last few months before his death on Monday. We figured he went to 3,840 to 3,900 games. That’s counting the playoffs. “Some fans may not have seen Joe Charboneau, but they saw John Adams,” Skip said. Charboneau was the 1980 American League Rookie of the Year. His career was brief, only three big league seasons and 201 games – all with Cleveland. Injuries were the culprit. For what it’s worth, I nicknamed him “Super Joe” when I was on the Tribe beat for The Plain Dealer in 1980. Charboneau in 1980 was one of those “You had to be there moments.” Adams was there. Just as Adams was there for Tribe players such as Rico Carty, Gaylord Perry and Frank Robinson, baseball first African American manager. He was there for teams that lost 100 games several times, and for a team that was 100-44 in 1995. He was there for three trips to the World Series. He was there for the fans. Several wrote to me after his death. Several emailed me, and hundreds posted on my Facebook page: CLEVELAND BASEBALL WITHOUT JOHN ADAMS? I never had the good fortune of meeting John Adams … but I feel like I’ve lost a real friend today. We’ve shared a stadium many times, and of course, we always had a connection through the Cleveland Indians/Guardians. He will forever be the greatest fan in Cleveland history. I’ve never known Cleveland baseball without John Adams, he was always part of my baseball experience my entire life. – Chris Probst A NIGHT IN THE BLEACHERS My friend and I were going to a game in 2012. We stopped at a nearby bar before the game. We sat down and ordered a beer and the guy next to us was by himself. We were wearing Tribe gear and it was obvious we were fans going to the game. The fellow started chatting with us. He was from St. Louis and was in town for work. He wanted to go to a baseball game. He was by himself. After we had chatted over a beer or two, he asked if he could sit with us. We were sitting in the bleachers so that was easy enough and we welcomed him to join us. When we first heard the drum we were close enough to see John doing his drumming. The fellow from St. Louis was absolutely starstruck to see John Adams, the legendary baseball drummer. I don’t remember if he knew John’s name, but he certainly knew the drumbeat of Cleveland’s baseball games. Between innings he went up to meet John, who was his typical self. Friendly. Smiling. Hand shaking. This baseball fan was amazed. Amazed. Truly starstruck. – Jack Bacevice John Adams greets fans at TribeFest. MEMORIES & TEARS I’m crying at work. The City of Cleveland, heck, the whole region, should lower their flags to half-staff. – Jonathan Foise A GUY FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD Mr. Adams was known to Cleveland baseball fans as the guy with the bass drum in the bleachers. But to us on Elm Street, he was the guy who hosted Christmas parties. He mowed his lawn on the ride-on mower. He watched us grow up and was who we got to hang out with at baseball games. As we got older we heard him referred to as a “Cleveland Legend,” but again to us he was always just Mr. Adams. – Carol Crowell HOW ABOUT A PICTURE? My son and I had the experience of sitting next to him just due to the luck of the draw for our bleacher seats. What a nice man. He talked to us through the entire game. Many people came up and handed me their phone for a selfie with the man. He was gracious to everyone and happy to visit. This was years ago and my son, who is now a special-needs adult, still reminds me of it. – Dave LeBrun CLEVELAND LEGEND I regret never climbing the bleachers to say hello to John Adams. He was a personality like Big Chuck, Ghoulardi, Super Host or Dick Goddard, that was uniquely Cleveland. The games have not been the same without him. Should Cleveland ever win the World Series in my lifetime, I’ll think of him. – Eric Furniss Cleveland drummer John Adams has been honored by the Guardians for his faithfulness. Illustration by Chris Morris / Advance local HEARD ON THE RADIO A part of my childhood passsed away. I remember listening to his drums echo through the old stadium on the radio. – Ming Chang A BASEBALL ANGEL He was an angel. We laughed together. Watched games together and just had fun. I will miss John. – Jan Tulley BASEBALL ROYALTY I remember standing on the corner of East 9th Street waiting to cross the street to go into one of my first games. It was a beautiful sunny day game with my older brother. I look over and see a guy next to me holding a drum. I tap my brother on the arm and say “Look at this guy with a drum.” As soon as I said it out loud, I realized I was standing next to Cleveland baseball royalty. My brother and I were so excited to see him right next to us. I was probably about 18 years old at the time and as excited as a kindergartener seeing Santa. – Harry Lehman John Adams carries his bass drum to his bleacher seat at Progressive Field on Thursday, August 22, 2013. Adams was celebrating his 40th anniversary of drumming at Indians games. HE WAS ALWAYS THERE Earliest baseball memories were trying to bang that wooden seat at Municipal Stadium along with John. His name was as known to us young fans as Duane Kuiper and Buddy Bell. That empty stadium turned into a rocking Jacobs Field and he pumped up a crowd as superstars like Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, and Jim Thome gave us teams that were worth rooting for! And John Adams was still there!! For fans of a few generations, he will always be there!!! – Jim Fracasso HOW ABOUT A PATCH? During the season, have the players wear a patch of a drum on their uniform shoulders. – Kevin Petitte THE LITTLE THINGS John proved that we can all move others with simple acts. He was a part of the fabric of this city and he did it through the highest highs and the lowest lows. What a great human being. – Kathie Kinde Clark SUMMING IT UP I think the appeal of John Adams was: - The simplicity of it - just beating a drum. - The consistency - everyone expected to see him there. - Being relatable - a working-class fan, first and foremost. - Humility : He thought of himself as one of us, and vice-versa. Marketing often overlooks these traits when trying to tap into fan favor. Thanks, John - you will be missed but never forgotten; a part of Cleveland lore. – Shawn Moore A FNAL THOUGHT I thought all ballparks had a drummer when I was a kid. – Bernie Cousineau
The drumbeat was an Indian thing. Once they changed the name to guardians it became moot. I think that was half of the name was what they could do for cheering that non Indian named teams couldn’t do. The drum beat and tomahawk chop things were unique to those teams. I’m a Braves fan for around 40 years and those things were fine when they are winning but started getting annoying when they weren’t doing so well.
John Adams is a Cleveland legend, period. I personally hope the beat goes on in one form or another. It may not be relative with the name, 'Guardians', but Id wager their will be hundreds (literally) of drums at the Cleveland Home Opener. Someone may just continue the tradition, like passing the baton, all the power to them. Ive seen him beat that skin in person and I could hear it on the radio growing up on AM 1100, which was when I was a kid, WWWE, now WTAM. @Duff_Beer_Doug Do you remember the, Pete Franklin Show (AM1100)? He was a nut, I enjoyed listening.
It was never an "Indian thing" as you put it. It was tradition at Municipal Stadium, for baseball and football, to bang your seat of the folding seats to rally the crowd and team on the field. Adams loved that sound and the drum beat reminded him of it and it got people up to clap and cheer and bang their seats. I've been at the stadium when nearly 81,000 people (yes 81,000+ was the capacity for baseball and no there weren't too many sold out games either) people were banging their seats. You could feel the stadium shaking and the cheering was near deafening at times. It was never an Indian war drum or what ever you'd like to call it. It was a rally drum that got the people up and involved and charged up the fans and the players.
