One would have to retreat
to the early to mid-1950s to find any of the Ivy League teams
consistently ranked in the end of season top fifteen. Other than the
rarities of Princeton’s 1964 All American Cosmo Iacovazzi, Cornell’s Ed
Marinaro who almost took the 1971 Heisman award, and ’72 Yale All
American Dick Jauron, all three of whom were named to the College
Football Hall Of Fame, Ivy and small college football honorees of
national caliber and renown have become almost non-existent. The last
time small east coast colleges put their Little All Americans or
Division II or III All Americans into the national spotlight can be
traced to the mid-1980s with the Sports Illustrated supported hype of
both Joe Dudek of Plymouth State (New Hampshire) College and Gordon
Lockbaum of The College Of The Holy Cross. A Holy Cross star who could
have been similarly promoted was Dan Adams who admitted to filling out
to a somewhat smaller stature than his 5’10”, 215 program listing, a
linebacker who roamed the field from sideline to sideline, throwing his
undersized body around with disregard for anything but making tackles
and helping his team gain victory. He completed a terrific career that
included an NCAA record twenty-one unassisted tackles in a 2005 game
against Colgate and proved to be the exemplary captain and team player
that most fans idealize. In almost every interview, he gave credit to
his father Ron, a Catawba (North Carolina) College Athletic Hall Of Fame
fullback who completed his career as the institution’s third all-time
rusher, then stood as their fourth leading career rusher for years, and
who remains as a top ten all timer.
Dan noted his father’s strong influence
both during and after his own career, stating that his father was “…real
intense and loves football…We share the same love for the game. Football
is very special to me because it is something that I can share on a
personal level with my father.” Dan was motivated at every level of the
game because of the pride he took in his dad’s journey from a single
parent and somewhat impoverished background to one of unqualified
success. Though he wanted to emulate the success that his father had,
this would not be an easy task. Ronald H. Adams attended Catawba College
with the benefit of a football scholarship and he made the most of this
singular opportunity to further his education. The Fairfax, Virginia
native no doubt could have played at a larger, more prestigious
university but lacked the necessary experience and guidance and was thus
happy to accept the first scholarship offer he was presented. An
intelligent young man, Ron understood that he would have but one chance
to fulfill a dream so jumped onto the Catawba Indians bandwagon.
His choice was prescient as
Catawba was a small gem of academic and athletic excellence, often lost
in the sea of small college status. Now a Division II competitor in the
South Atlantic Conference, Ron was present to help the Indians
transition from the Carolinas Conference to the SAC in 1975. He was
recruited by long time Catawba coach Harvey Stratton and assumed
starting fullback duties in ’72 as a sophomore. He flourished under new
coach Bill “Big Daddy” Faircloth who took the head coaching position for
1973 and remained at the Indians helm through Ron’s final ’75 season
before spending two years as a Duke assistant and then becoming a living
institution within the Wake Forest athletic program for more than thirty
years. Under both Stratton and Faircloth, Ron’s teams remained a solid
.500 squad with numerous outstanding individual players. As excellent as
Ron was running between the tackles, his forte was blocking and leading
the way for “the other back,” Kim Smith. At another school he would have
been the backfield bell cow but Smith was exceptional and they both
shared top billing. When their careers wrapped up, Ron had carried 448
times to Kim’s 465, both had 4.6 yard rushing averages with Kim totaling
2149 career yards and Ron 2060. They were an unselfish one-two punch who
both earned entry to the Catawba Athletic Hall Of Fame.
Ron was an Honorable
Mention All Carolinas performer in both 1973 and ’74. He proudly wore
the white Riddell TK2-B shell with a one-inch red center stripe and
one-inch navy blue flanking stripes. The distinctive Catawba “C” logo
within a red oval is augmented by the tomahawk award stickers,
indicative of Ron’s recognition for 100 yard rushing outings. The helmet
is beautifully finished with a Dungard DG 120 mask and in his game
photos it is obvious that the helmet retains a beige snubber rather than
the leather wildcat anterior piece that became prominently utilized in
the early to mid-seventies. Ron may have begun his collegiate career
with one of the older TK shells from the equipment room and retained it
throughout his entire time at Catawba. The educational opportunity that
Ron received due to the football scholarship his hard work and
dedication earned for him was rewarded with a degree and a successful
career as a financial consultant. He has remained athletically active,
recently winning the 2017 Virginia State Senior Olympics in the 50 meter
sprint. Most significantly, he provided the best-of-the-best parenting
for his son Dan. He was blessed with three children who became college
graduates and Dan has always credited the attainment of his own
scholarship to the lessons learned from his father. Catawba College
Athletic Hall Of Fame honoree Ronald H. Adams attained a great deal more
in life than what his background may have predicted and as son Dan
stated, “at age 33 I can look back and say that football had always been
the thing that brought our family together.” Our HELMET HUT staff
believes this beautiful Catawba helmet will always be a reminder of
this.
