Charles Adams (ice hockey)

Charles Francis Adams (October 18, 1876 – October 2, 1947) was an American businessman and sports promoter who was the owner of the Boston Bruins, Boston Braves, Suffolk Downs, and The First National grocery store chain.

Adams was born in Newport, Vermont on October 18, 1876 to Frank and Elizabeth (Benoit) Adams. His family struggled financially and at a young age Adams took a job as a chore boy at a corner grocery store to help subsidize the family's income. As a teenager Adams purchased logs for his father's sawmill.

After graduating from Jenney Business College in Enosburgh, Vermont, Adams moved to Springfield, Vermont where he worked for his uncle Oscar Adams' wholesale grocery business. After working for a time as a traveling grocer and tobacco salesman, Adams moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he became treasurer of the New England Maple Syrup Company. He later worked for the Fitzgerald, Hubbard & Company banking and brokerage firm.

Adams left Fitzgerald, Hubbard & Company to work for the John T. Connor Company, which later became the First National Store chain.

Adams was an avid hockey fan, watching amateur hockey in Boston and traveling to Montreal to watch professional hockey. After a scandal involving Boston amateur hockey players that resulted in many Boston fans becoming disenchanted with amateur hockey, Adams decided to try to bring professional hockey to the United States. On November 1, 1924, Adams was awarded the Bruins franchise for $15,000.

In 1926 Adams bought the entire Western Canada Hockey League from Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick for $300,000. This gave the Bruins the rights to Eddie Shore, Harry Oliver, Duke Keats, and Frank Boucher. To ensure the team had a fitting arena to play in, Adams guaranteed $500,000 toward the construction of the Boston Garden.

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