Bud Adams facts for kids
Adams in 1964
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| Personal information | |
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| Born: | January 3, 1923 Bartlesville, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died: | October 21, 2013 (aged 90) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Kansas |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Bud Adams
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| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |
 United States Navy |
| Rank |  Lieutenant, junior grade |
| Battles/wars | World War II: Pacific Theater |
Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr. (born January 3, 1923 – died October 21, 2013) was an American businessman. He is best known as the founder and owner of the Tennessee Titans football team. This team is part of the National Football League (NFL).
Bud Adams was a member of the Cherokee Nation. He first earned his money in the oil business. He was the head of Adams Resources & Energy Inc., a company that supplied oil and natural gas. Adams was very important in starting the American Football League (AFL).
Adams became one of the first owners in the AFL. His team was first called the Houston Oilers. Later, it became the Tennessee Titans. He was the longest-serving owner in the NFL for his team. He also owned the Houston Mavericks basketball team and the Nashville Kats arena football team. Adams was inducted into the American Football League Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Bud Adams was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on January 3, 1923. His parents were K. S. "Boots" Adams and Blanch Keeler Adams. He was a member of the Cherokee Nation through his mother's family. His great-grandmothers were Cherokee women. They married European-American men who were involved in trade and oil in Oklahoma.
His father, K. S. "Boots" Adams, became president of Phillips Petroleum Company in 1939. His uncle, W. W. Keeler, also led Phillips Petroleum. He was also appointed Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation by the U.S. President.
Adams went to Culver Military Academy and graduated in 1940. He played three sports there. He then went to the University of Kansas (KU). He played football for the Jayhawks while studying engineering.
During World War II, Adams served in the United States Navy. He was in the Pacific Theater. He reached the rank of Lieutenant (Junior Grade). After the war, he returned to KU for more studies.
In 1947, Adams started his own oil company, ADA Oil Company. This company later became Adams Resources & Energy.
Sports Career in Houston
Starting the American Football League
In 1959, Bud Adams wanted to own an NFL team. He and another Texas oilman, Lamar Hunt, tried to buy the Chicago Cardinals. They wanted to move the team to Texas. When that didn't work, Adams tried to get a new NFL team, but the NFL owners said no.
A few days later, Hunt called Adams and suggested starting a new football league. They met and decided to create a team in Houston. Hunt believed a rivalry between his Dallas Texans and a Houston team would help the new league grow.
On August 3, Adams and Hunt announced the new league. It was officially named the American Football League. Adams was very important to the AFL's success. He and Hunt were the wealthiest owners, which made the league more stable.
Adams helped the league by signing Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon. He also helped the New York team, the Titans, stay in business. The Titans later became the Jets.
Adams's team, the Houston Oilers, was very successful early on. They won the first two AFL Championship Games. They played in four AFL Championship Games in total.
Houston Mavericks Basketball Team
From 1967 to 1969, Adams also owned the Houston Mavericks. This was a basketball team in the American Basketball Association. The team did not do well in Houston and had low attendance. It later moved to Charlotte.
The Houston Oilers and the Astrodome
In 1966, the AFL merged with the NFL. This made Adams and other AFL owners much more successful. In 1968, Adams moved his Oilers team into the Astrodome. This stadium was also home to the Houston Astros baseball team.
The Astrodome was cooler and less humid, but it wasn't perfect for football. The best seats were far from the field. Also, the Astrodome only held about 50,000 fans for football. By the 1980s, it was the smallest stadium in the NFL. Adams felt his team was secondary to the baseball team.
Challenges in Houston
At first, Adams was seen as a hero for bringing a major sports team to Houston. But his popularity changed as the Oilers struggled. People felt he was too involved in the team's daily decisions.
In the late 1970s, the Oilers became strong again. Their coach, Bum Phillips, was very popular. The Oilers lost in the AFC Championship Game twice. Then, Adams fired Phillips. The team's performance declined, and many fans blamed Adams.
In 1987, Adams said he would move the Oilers to Jacksonville, Florida, if the Astrodome wasn't improved. Harris County, which owned the stadium, spent $67 million on renovations. This added 10,000 seats and luxury boxes. Adams promised to keep the team in Houston for 10 years.
The Oilers improved on the field and made the playoffs from 1987 to 1993. But they never reached the Super Bowl. After the 1993 season, Adams threatened to make big changes if the team didn't reach the Super Bowl. The next year, the Oilers had their worst season ever.
By the mid-1990s, many NFL teams were getting new stadiums. These stadiums had new features that made more money. Adams asked Houston's mayor for a new stadium. But the mayor said no. Houstonians had just paid for the Astrodome renovations.
Adams then started looking for other cities for his team. He noticed that Nashville had offered a deal for a new arena. Adams met with Nashville's mayor, and they made a deal. The Oilers would move to Nashville for the 1998 season. A new 68,000-seat stadium would be built there.
When the move was announced in 1995, some people in Houston tried to stop it. Lawsuits were filed, but they were all dismissed. By the 1996 season, support for the Oilers in Houston was almost gone. Games had very few fans. The crowds were so quiet that you could hear players talking on the field.
The team's radio network in Texas shrank. Adams, the city, and the NFL agreed that this couldn't continue. So, Harris County let the Oilers leave their lease early. This allowed the team to move to Tennessee a year sooner.
Sports Career in Tennessee
Tennessee Oilers
The new stadium in Nashville was delayed. So, Adams needed a temporary home for his team, now called the Tennessee Oilers. The largest stadium in Nashville was Vanderbilt Stadium, but it was too small. Also, Vanderbilt did not allow alcohol sales, which meant less money for the team.
Adams chose Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis. It was three-and-a-half hours away from Nashville. The team would live in Nashville but travel to Memphis for games. This meant the Oilers played almost all their games away from home for two years. Adams himself continued to live in Houston.
The 1997 season in Memphis was difficult. Fans in both Memphis and Nashville were not happy with the arrangement. Memphis fans were not interested in a temporary team. Nashville fans didn't want to travel so far. As a result, the Oilers played in front of very small crowds.
Adams had planned to stay in Memphis for another year. But only one game had a large crowd, and many of those fans were for the other team. So, Adams decided to play the 1998 season at Vanderbilt Stadium instead.
Only four of the eight home games at Vanderbilt sold out in 1998. The move to Tennessee seemed like a failure. Then, a tornado hit downtown Nashville. It damaged the new stadium's construction site. Oilers players helped with cleanup, and Adams gave money for relief. This helped improve the team's image.
During the 1998 season, Adams announced big changes. The team would get a new name better suited for its new home. It would also add navy blue to its colors. The team would keep all its old records from the Oilers era. A committee chose ""Titans" as the team's new name.
Tennessee Titans
With their new name and stadium, the Tennessee Titans gained a lot of support in Nashville. In 1999, the Titans finished the regular season with a great record of 13 wins and 3 losses. They made it to the playoffs.
In their first playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, they won with a famous play. It was a last-minute kickoff return called the "Home Run Throwback." It is now known as the "Music City Miracle." The ball was passed sideways between players, and Kevin Dyson ran 75 yards for the winning touchdown. Officials confirmed it was a legal play.
After this win, the Titans won two more playoff games. They reached their first-ever Super Bowl in Atlanta. They lost 23–16 to the St. Louis Rams. They came just one yard short of a touchdown on the game's final play. This was one of the most exciting Super Bowl endings ever.
The Titans continued to be a strong team. They won their division the next year. They also reached the AFC Championship in 2002. In 2008, they had a 13-3 record, one of the best in the AFC.
Nashville Kats Arena Football Team
In 2001, Adams bought the rights to start an Arena Football League team in Nashville. He had trouble getting a good lease for the arena. Another arena football team had left Nashville because of a bad lease.
Adams did not want his team to be a secondary tenant, like the Oilers were in the Astrodome. He thought about building a new, smaller stadium. By 2004, Adams and the arena owners agreed on a lease. The new Nashville Kats team began playing in 2005. Country music singer Tim McGraw became a part-owner.
The Kats made the playoffs once in three seasons. But they didn't have much success, and fan support dropped. In October 2007, Adams announced the team would stop playing.
Personal Life and Legacy
Bud Adams was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. He served on the executive committee of the Cherokee National Historical Society.
He was married to Nancy Neville Adams for 62 years. She passed away in 2009. They had two daughters, Susan and Amy, and a son, Kenneth S. Adams III. All of his children and grandchildren are registered Cherokee. His son passed away in 1987 at age 29.
Adams died at his home in Houston in 2013 at age 90. At the time of his death, he had 409 wins as an NFL owner. This was the most of any active owner. His team made 21 playoff appearances in 53 seasons. They reached the AFL Championship four times and the AFC Championship Game four times. They made one Super Bowl appearance.
Ownership of the Titans is now managed by his children and grandchildren. This includes his daughter Amy Adams Strunk, and his grandsons Kenneth S. Adams IV and Barclay Adams.
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