2009 Inductees

Purdy Adams

Purdy Adams was born in 1920, the son of Charles and Ida Adams, and grew up on South Street in Berwick. His love of sports was evident as a young boy, and he remembers walking to South Berwick to play pond hockey. Once at the pond he put on his “spring” skates with magazines for shin pads and had a great time. In later years he played hockey for the Berwick School team and then for the Berwick Bruins. He was known as an excellent skater who could easily put the puck in the net. During one Bruins game, Purdy was the unfortunate recipient of serious facial cuts from an opponent's skates after checking him. Purdy was attended to by Dr R. A. Moreash, who arrived at the rink just as the accident happened; he was then taken to hospital.

Purdy loved baseball, growing up playing in town with his friends and on the Berwick School team. He remembers walking over to Welsford to join in games of ball with the Kinsman brothers Harry, Cyril, and Earle and their friends. He fondly recalls having great fun in friendly sparring matches in the garage with Earle, who was an accomplished boxer.

Purdy's accomplishments in Track and Field were stellar. In 1932 Berwick won the Schoolboy Championship at the Kings County Interschool Track Meet. Purdy, age 12, was a major contributor, winning the 60, 100 and 440 yd dashes as well as the broad jump.

The next year, 1933, Purdy, as a member of the Berwick Tuxis Boys Team, traveled to the Acadia University Campus in Wolfville to compete in the Kings County Athletic Meet for the Maritime and National Trophies. The Berwick team finished in first place. Purdy won the medal for the leading scorer in his own class, as well as in all classes. He was named Maritime Champion when his results were compared to those of other Maritime Competitions.

The following year, 1934, the Berwick team traveled again to Acadia University to compete. Purdy won all six events in Class Two, the medal for leading scorer in all classes, and was the reason the Berwick boys made the best showing. The Halifax Chronicle Herald headline on the sports page read “Purdy Adams Big Scorer in Valley Sports Meet”. His results were as follows: 75 yd dash 9.2 sec; potato race 17 sec; high jump 4ft 3 ½ in; 6lb shot put 33ft 2in; baseball throw 216 ft 2in; broad jump 13ft 7in.

In later years, Dr R.V. Thorpe told Purdy's mother how worried he'd been when competing against the "little guy from Berwick" in the track meets years before and how easily Purdy had outraced him.

The Berwick Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Purdy Adams.

Inducted June 2009