Ivers Whitney Adams
Encyclopedia
Ivers Whitney Adams was an American
baseball
executive and businessperson, and founder of the first professional baseball team in Boston
, the Boston Red Stockings
.
, and is the longest continuously operating team in Major League Baseball
. On January 20, 1871, the Boston Base Ball Association was legally organized by Adams with $15,000 raised from investors and the commitment of Harry Wright
, manager of America's first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings
, to manage the new Boston club.
, Massachusetts, but left the town at the age of 19 to seek his fortune in Boston. He became the president
of the American Net and Twine Company
, which was the largest manufacturer of its kind in the world at that time. Throughout his life Adams kept an interest in the activities of his home community. Adams was an enthusiastic sportsman, he had a fishing
lodge in Canada
, from which he sent his Ashburnham friends fresh salmon
, and a hunting preserve in Virginia
. He was interested in the propagation of fish, and for some years leased from the town of Ashburnham, Upper Naukeag Lake, where he maintained a summer home on an island.
One of Ashburnham's problems which concerned Adams was the town's inadequate water system. Adams presented Ashburnham with a new water system, which included a pumping station
at Upper Naukeag Lake, a storage tank
at Bulkeleys Corner and six and a half miles of new water mains. The town's new water system was dedicated on Columbus Day
in 1912. Adams was the guest of honor.
Bela Pratt
's sculpture, Ashburnham's Schoolboy of 1850, was presented to the town of Ashburnham and Schools by Adams in 1913, a year before his death. The statue is a life size bronze
figure on a granite
base and depicts a 12-year-old schoolboy walking to his one-room district school in 1850. The boy is barefoot
, wears a straw hat and is carrying a writing slate
and lunch pail. Adams gave the statue to the town to honor and encourage young country boys, like he was at one point was, to value education so they could take their love of nature, community spirit and creative thinking learned in the Ashburnham pioneering woods out into the world.
The Schoolboy Statue of 1850 stands now at the corner of School and Main Street, near the entrance of Cushing Academy
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
executive and businessperson, and founder of the first professional baseball team in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, the Boston Red Stockings
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
.
Baseball
Adams was the Founder, Organizer and First President of the Boston Base Ball Association, the legal corporation that operated the baseball club initially known as the Boston Red Stockings. The club was Boston's first professional baseball team, continues to operate today as the Atlanta BravesAtlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, and is the longest continuously operating team in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. On January 20, 1871, the Boston Base Ball Association was legally organized by Adams with $15,000 raised from investors and the commitment of Harry Wright
Harry Wright
William Henry "Harry" Wright was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings...
, manager of America's first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings
Cincinnati Red Stockings
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first fully professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players 1867–1870, a time of a transition that ambitious Cincinnati,...
, to manage the new Boston club.
Business career
Adams was a native of AshburnhamAshburnham
Ashburnham may refer to:*Ashburnham, Carmarthenshire, Wales*Ashburnham and Penhurst, East Sussex, England*Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States*Earl of Ashburnham*John Ashburnham *Ashburnham BaronetsCategory:Surnames...
, Massachusetts, but left the town at the age of 19 to seek his fortune in Boston. He became the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the American Net and Twine Company
American Net and Twine Company Factory
The American Net and Twine Company Factory is an historic factory at 155 2nd Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts.The factory was built in 1875 and added to the National Historic Register in 1982. Ivers Whitney Adams was the President of the company at one point.-References:...
, which was the largest manufacturer of its kind in the world at that time. Throughout his life Adams kept an interest in the activities of his home community. Adams was an enthusiastic sportsman, he had a fishing
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
lodge in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, from which he sent his Ashburnham friends fresh salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
, and a hunting preserve in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He was interested in the propagation of fish, and for some years leased from the town of Ashburnham, Upper Naukeag Lake, where he maintained a summer home on an island.
One of Ashburnham's problems which concerned Adams was the town's inadequate water system. Adams presented Ashburnham with a new water system, which included a pumping station
Pumping station
Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, such as the supply of water to canals, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of sewage to processing sites.A pumping station...
at Upper Naukeag Lake, a storage tank
Water tank
A Water tank is a container for storing water. The need for a water tank is as old as civilized man, providing storage of water for drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well as many...
at Bulkeleys Corner and six and a half miles of new water mains. The town's new water system was dedicated on Columbus Day
Columbus Day
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday...
in 1912. Adams was the guest of honor.
Bela Pratt
Bela Pratt
Bela Lyon Pratt was an American sculptor.-Life:Pratt was born in Norwich, Connecticut to Sarah and George Pratt, a Yale-educated lawyer. His maternal grandfather, Oramel Whittlesey, was a pianoforte maker and founder in 1835 of the first music school in the country authorized to confer degrees to...
's sculpture, Ashburnham's Schoolboy of 1850, was presented to the town of Ashburnham and Schools by Adams in 1913, a year before his death. The statue is a life size bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
figure on a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
base and depicts a 12-year-old schoolboy walking to his one-room district school in 1850. The boy is barefoot
Barefoot
Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. Being barefoot is regarded as a human's natural state, though for functional, fashion and social reasons footwear is worn, at least on some occasions...
, wears a straw hat and is carrying a writing slate
Slate (writing)
A writing slate is a piece of flat material used as a medium for writing.In the 19th century, writing slates were made of slate, which is more durable than paper and was cheap at the time when paper was expensive. It was used to allow children to practice writing...
and lunch pail. Adams gave the statue to the town to honor and encourage young country boys, like he was at one point was, to value education so they could take their love of nature, community spirit and creative thinking learned in the Ashburnham pioneering woods out into the world.
The Schoolboy Statue of 1850 stands now at the corner of School and Main Street, near the entrance of Cushing Academy
Cushing Academy
Cushing Academy is a coeducational college preparatory boarding school for grades 9 through 12 plus an optional postgraduate year located in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1865 in fulfilment of a bequest by Thomas Parkman Cushing and opened in 1875, and is sometimes cited as the...
.