CLEVELAND, Ohio - John Adams, who started pounding on his bass drum in support of the Cleveland Indians/Guardians back at old Municipal Stadium, has died. He was 71.
Adams, who manned his perch in the bleachers at Municipal Stadium and Progressive Field for nearly 50 years, died Monday morning after battling multiple health problems. He had been unable to attend Guardians games at Progressive Field for the last three years because of the pandemic and failing health.
The first year Adams started drumming for Cleveland’s baseball team was Aug. 24, 1973. He continued until the pandemic of 2020, followed by two years of health problems in 2021 and 2022 that kept him away from the ballpark.
Asked why he drummed for the Indians and Guardians, Adams said before the 2021 home opener, “What keeps anybody a fan? I’ve loved the game since I was a little kid. How do you explain how you fall in love with something? You just do. That’s what happened to me.”
Adams was honored before Cleveland’s home opener on April 5, 2021 when Pat Carney, drummer for Akron’s Black Keys, sat in his bleacher seat and played his bass drum.
This past season, Adams was inducted into Guardians’ Distinquished Hall of Fame for non-uniformed personnel. The Hall of Fame, called Heritage Park, is located behind the center field wall at Progressive Field. The John Adams drum bench is located there.
At the induction, the Guardians said Adams had pounded his drum at more than 3,700 Cleveland home games. Adams was just the 12th person to be honored with a place in the team’s Distinquished Hall of Fame. The team commissioned local sculptor Dave Demming to create a bronzed replica drum affixed to Adams’ actual Progressive Field bleacher bench.
Adams in a 2021 story with cleveland.com spoke about missing going to the ballpark.
“I missed it a bunch,” he said. “I really did miss being there. I’ve met people from all over the world. Now everything is virtual.
“Just tell people to send their prayers. It helps me a lot. And ask them to be good to each other. Until this (pandemic) is over let’s all be there for each other. It looks like we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Adams never wavered in his support for the Indians and Guardians. When Peter Bavasi, former team president, threatened to close the bleachers at Municipal Stadium in 1984, Adams told a reporter, “Guys like Bavasi come and go. This is my team.”
Bavasi, who recognized a good turn of a phrase when he heard one, used “This is My Team” as the Indians’ slogan that year.
While many of the current Guardians players never played with Adams providing the backbeat of a game, Sandy Alomar spent 11 years playing for the Indians with the sound of Adams’ bass drum echoing throughout Municipal Stadium and Progressive Field. Not to mention the 13 years he served as an Cleveland coach.
“My condolences to John’s family,” said Alomar in a text. “Playing in front of John was a unique baseball experience. That was all we knew as players and that’s a fact. John was going to be there no matter what. He was a genuine fan. We’ll miss him and he’ll always be in our hearts.”
Carlos Baerga, who played parts of seven seasons in Cleveland, said, “John was great because he kept everyone in the ballpark alert. He made us play harder. He was our cheerleader and our good luck charm. Condolences to his family.”
Center fielder Kenny Lofton said after he’d take his warmup throws in the first inning at Progressive Field, he turn around and try to hit Adams’ drum in the bleachers.
“He’d put the drum out there as a target and I’d throw it up there,” said Lofton, who played 10 years in Cleveland. “It was a thing that he and I always did. I mean John was fan. He was there rain or shine.
“That drum beat it was powerful. It felt like, ‘We are the Cleveland Indians.’ It took you to a higher place because somebody was trying to take something away from you. With that beat going on, it lifted our spirits.”
Adams suffered a series of health setbacks over the last several years that included triple-bypass surgery, heart-valve replacement and thyroid problems.
- This post has been updated to correct that Adams passed away Monday morning.