Sam Adams was the team physician for Tacoma professional baseball clubs for nearly 30 years. Starting in the 1960s, he cared for and treated players -- and occasionally fans -- at Cheney Stadium. He was involved as the Tacoma affiliation with major league clubs changed from the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs to the Minnesota Twins to the New York Yankees, to the Cleveland Indians and finally the Oakland A’s.

Dr. Adams also volunteered as the physician for many Golden Gloves boxing exhibitions put on by the Tacoma Athletic Commission. He was also one of the founders of the West End Athletic Association in 1960 as part of the Metropolitan Park District.

When he wasn’t treating patients, Adams could be found fly fishing for steelhead on the rivers of Western Washington. He was a regular guest on the television program Northwest Fisherman. He was also a longtime member at the Tacoma Country and Golf Club where he hit his second hole-in-one in August 1998, just six months before his death.