Adams: had a ‘knack of knowing what the man in the street wanted’
Former Daily Record sports editor Jack Adams has died while holidaying on the island of Kos.
He began his journalistic career with the Scottish Daily Mail, but made his name as a demanding but charismatic sports editor of the Daily Record when its sports coverage was a major factor in the tabloid’s burgeoning sales figures.
Lifelong colleague Alex Gordon remembers him with great affection.
“Wee Jack, as he was known to everyone, always had a smile on his face. He possessed a marvellous demeanour and treated everyone the same.
“He had the ability to make you feel important; that you were part of the great scheme of things in the sometimes erratic and always electrifying world of newspapers.
“Preferring to remain in the background, Jack was never interested in rattling out his opinions in print. He never sought out the limelight.
“He had an uncanny knack of knowing what the man in the street wanted from his newspaper. He was always an innovator and never an imitator.
“He may be gone, but his influence over so many is still there to be seen.”
Adams moved off mainline production to cover rugby in the Eighties and, although his first love was football, he made a massive success of the job, with the rugby world taking to him immediately.
Adams took early retirement 10 years ago to spend more time with his wife Beth and his family.
Hamish Mackay
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