The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF LEGENDARY FOOTBALL COACH RICHARD
``SPARKY'' ADAMS
______
HON. BRIAN HIGGINS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a legendary football coach Richard ``Sparky'' Adams, Sr. Mr. Adams was born March 24, to Lee and Josephine Adams. The three-sport athlete graduated from Silver Creek High School before majoring in physical education at Brockport State. After securing his college degree during the Korean War, ``Sparky'' enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserves and was assigned to the USS Randolph as a signalman.
Rising to the rank of Ensign 3rd Class, his fourteen months on the USS Randolph came to an end in the summer of 1954. On returning home, Richard Adams began teaching physical education and coaching football as well as basketball at Monroe High School. In 1956, he started teaching physical education for the Kenmore public schools, started at Kenmore East in 1959, totaling 30 years of teaching in the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District.
``Sparky'' and Jean Rathmann met in 1955, married in 1956, and spent the next sixty-four years together until her passing last year. Their three children, Richard Jr., Penny Jo, and Amy Leigh, as always, took solace in their father's weirds: ``if you get knocked down, pick yourself up and try to do better next time.''
``Sparky'' and Jean had connected immediately; not only did they marry after ten months, but she became a frequent confidant for his coaching schemes. With the assistance of his wife and the legend Jules Yakapovich, Coach Adams became a legend in his own right when he concluded his high school coaching in 1977 with four consecutive league championships.
His resume also includes hundreds of college athletes and college football coaching offers. In fact, he would go on to coach Buffalo, Canisius, and eventually Buffalo State, where he paired with head coach Jerry Boyes to end his college coaching tenure like his high school career; the Bengals went deep into the playoffs and ensured ``The Legend'' went into retirement with a bang. He retired at age 70 but continued his tour of local football teams as an assistant coach at Benjamin Franklin Middle School alongside his best friend and coach Lou Reuter.
Coach Adams may have sparked many of his athletes' and students' careers, but the soon-to-be nonagenarian also molded their morals with his mentorship. The sailor from Silver Creek made such a mark that his name is now emblazoned on Kenmore East's football field--Coach Dick
``Sparky'' Adams Field will remind future athletes of the coach who cared more for character and confidence than championships.
Richard Towne Adams, Sr. went by many names--Ensign to the Navy; teacher to his students; coach to his athletes; husband to Jean; and father to three. But perhaps there's just one name that can encapsulate what he meant to everyone he met and to those who didn't get the pleasure: Happy 90th to ``The Legend'' Sparky Adams.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 51
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