Francis Weston Woollard Adams (August 9, 1904 – March 19, 1973) was an American hockey executive with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Early life
Adams was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated from Harvard where he played Goaltender on the varsity team.
Boston Bruins
Early experience
In 1924, Adam's father, Charles Adams, founded the Boston Bruins. Although he was still a student at the time, Adams was very involved with the team. While Adams was president of the Bruins, the team finished first in the NHL American Division from 1937–38 season to the 1940–41 regular season. They won the Stanley Cup in 1939, and 1941. During his tenure as president Adams remained involved in the player development process, monitoring the progress of players with the Tigers and the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League. Adams remained a major stockholder in the Garden-Arena Corporation and he became its chairman in 1951. The team's struggled during the first few seasons under the Garden-Arena Corporation, until Adams took on a more proactive role in player procurement. He remained on as chairman of the board until 1973. Boston would win 2 more Stanley Cups in 1970, and 1972. a horse racing stable, and was a member of the Suffolk Downs board of directors. He also served as travelling secretary of the Boston Braves baseball club. They divorced in 1936. On September 26, 1936, he married Nancy E. (Atkins) Gordon, ex-wife of playwright Leon Gordon. Adams had two children with her.