Corby Adams Explained

Corby Adams
Birth Place:Springwater, Ontario, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:190
Position:Left wing
Played For:Barrie Flyers
Clarkson
Barrie Flyers (senior)
Ntl Team:Canada
Career Start:1961
Career End:1977
Draft:Undrafted

Corby Adams (1940 – October 21, 2023) was a Canadian ice hockey left wing who was an All-American for Clarkson.

Career

Adams played several years of junior hockey in the Barrie area, reaching the top level of competition in 1960 with the Flyers. He accepted a scholarship to Clarkson and joined the varsity team in 1961, playing for Len Ceglarski, and helped the Golden Knights to a third-place finish in the inaugural season of ECAC Hockey. Adams was named First Team All-ECAC and helped the top-seeded Golden Knights reach the conference championship game. Their runner-up finish earned Clarkson a bid to the NCAA Tournament where the team defeated a Michigan team led by future NHLer Red Berenson. The victory sent Clarkson to its first championship game but the team was overwhelmed by Michigan Tech 1–8 in the finale.

For his second season, Adams led Clarkson in scoring and finished in the top ten in the nation. The Golden Knights finished second in the ECAC but were beaten in the conference semifinal by Harvard. The team finished the tournament in third place and weren't expecting to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament, however, because all Ivy League schools were engaged with a dispute over player eligibilities with the NCAA, Harvard declined its invitation and Clarkson was chosen as the replacement. The Golden Knights finished the 1963 NCAA Tournament in third place with Adams as one of the stars for Clarkson.[1]

Prior to his senior season, Adams was named an alternate captain and, though the team's record declined the Golden Knights returned to the conference tournament. Adams made his third All-ECAC First Team and became an All-American as well. Clarkson fell in the conference semifinal again, this time to top-seeded Providence and Adams ended his collegiate career with a loss in the consolation game.

After graduating with a degree in business administration, Adams returned to Barrie and began playing for the local senior hockey team, also named the Barrie Flyers, when it was founded in 1966. Adams played for the Flyers for a decade, becoming the team's all-time leader in games (370), goals (213), assists (353) and points (566).[2] He helped the team win the Allan Cup in 1974 as well as three other league championships in his ten seasons. Adams briefly left the team in 1970 to play with the Canadian national team but a series of decisions led Canada, who was initially supposed to host the 1970 Ice Hockey World Championships, to not even participate in the tournament.

After concluding his playing career in 1978, Adams was fondly remembered in both Barrie and Potsdam. He was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame in 1991[3] and was a member of Clarkson's Inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1992.[4] Several years later he was also enshrined in the Springwater Sports Heritage Hall of Fame.[5]

Death

Corby Adams died on October 21, 2023, at the age of 83.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

  Regular Season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1959–60Barrie FlyersOHA40110
1961–62ClarksonECAC Hockey25212546
1962–63ClarksonECAC Hockey2726305625
1963–64ClarksonECAC Hockey24272754
1966–67Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.3213324510
1967–68Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.4025345948
1968–69Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.3928517956
1969–70Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.2413152822
1970–71Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.3830316136
1971–72Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.3917415826
1972–73Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.4125345929
1973–74Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.3627325916
1974–75Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.3712364833
1975–76Barrie FlyersOHA Sr.4023477028
1976–77Brantford AlexandersOHA Sr.239223116
1977–78Orillia TundrasOHA Sr.2913203310
NCAA Totals76 74 82 156
OHA Sr. Totals418 235 395 630 330

Awards and honors

AwardYear
All-ECAC Hockey First Team1961–62[7]
All-ECAC Hockey First Team1962–63[8]
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament First Team1963[9]
NCAA All-Tournament Second Team1963[10]
All-ECAC Hockey First Team1963–64[11]
AHCA East All-American1963–64[12]
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Second Team1964[13]

Notes and References

  1. News: Brophy, Adams get All-Star Rankings . Clarkson Integrator . March 30, 1963 . January 7, 2021.
  2. News: Barrie Flyers - All Time Regular Season Player Stats . Elite Prospects . January 7, 2021.
  3. News: Corby Adams . Barrie Sports Hall of Fame . January 7, 2021.
  4. News: CORBY ADAMS '64 . Clarkson Golden Knights . January 7, 2021.
  5. News: Corby Adams . Springwater Sports Heritage . January 7, 2021.
  6. News: Robinson . Peter . Corby Adams, one of area's best athletes, mourned . 24 October 2023 . Midland Today . 23 October 2023.
  7. News: ECAC All-Teams. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  8. News: ECAC All-Teams. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  9. News: All-Tournament Honors. ECAC Hockey. 2014-05-12.
  10. News: NCAA Frozen Four Records. NCAA.org. 2013-06-19.
  11. News: ECAC All-Teams. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  12. News: 1963-1964 All-American Team . The American Hockey Coaches Association . 2017-06-21.
  13. News: All-Tournament Honors. ECAC Hockey. 2014-05-12.