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Tim Adams - In Memoriam


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It was 12 years ago today that the GID suffered a devastating blow from which many thought it would never recover. The founder and guiding spirit of the forum, Tim Adams, passed away suddenly. Tim was a long time coach, and a tireless promoter of Indiana high school football. I consider myself very fortunate to have gotten to know him and call him a good friend.

I know many of the people on the forum now joined after Tim passed, and they know him only by the occasional references on here. Perhaps others who knew him might share some of their recollections of this very good man.

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I'm a relative newcomer to the GID (longtime lurker, first time poster), really only starting reading as a guest around 2017 when a fellow coach/friend suggested checking it out for definitely not the first time. More of an, ok, ok, I will look into it.  September 22, 2017, to be precise, but let's not get into the weeds on that. I immediately knew my work productivity from there on out would be diminished by an unforseen amount.

I've seen many, many references to Mr. TA over the years (mostly vague, but always positive), and I would love to hear some stories from those who knew him better and are willing to share.

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Little known fact TA had a soft spot for Softball players, my daughter was just starting her career when she met TA. Whenever I talked to him after he met her he always asked me how she was doing and how her career was going. I often thought of the big guy watching her play throughout her career. TA had a heart of gold and he did what he did for all the right reasons. 

1 hour ago, DK_Barons said:

30 December 2004

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Geez what was Jimmie in this pic, about 12?

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Our crew made a rare trip to central Indiana during the regular season one year to work Fishers @ Avon. Dave Shelbourne, formerly at Highland, was coaching Avon and Rick Wimmer, formerly of Merrillville, was coaching Fishers. When TA found out we were coming, he got all excited and promised to come over and see us. We had a great time chatting before the game. This picture of the coin toss be fore the game was taken by TA himself.

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I was living in Greenwood in 2007 and drove out to Fortville and met with TA on the campus at Mt Vernon High School.  I tried to convince him to monetize the GID during that meeting but he held firm to his beliefs that the site was not designed as a for profit business , but rather as a tool to promote Indiana High School Football.  He was gracious but firm in his beliefs.  TA was always supportive of the DT Anti Establishment character that we had created together, and had many offline conversations.  His loss was shocking and I recall how I felt that day upon hearing the news.  

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16 hours ago, Bobref said:

I know many of the people on the forum now joined after Tim passed, and they know him only by the occasional references on here. Perhaps others who knew him might share some of their recollections of this very good man.

The son of a coaches kid - I remember getting on the GID often on Friday nights and Saturday mornings in the early 2000s. As well, getting the new edition of the yearly Indiana Football Digest to comb through season after season. My only time meeting TA was that late spring before my senior year when he came to Warsaw to get pictures and interviews, stats, etc for next seasons digest. Growing up, I couldn't wait to get my name and picture included. I will always remember meeting him that day.

Edited by NLCTigerFan07
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Tim was an amazing man. Most of our communication was through email or on here, but when you saw him in person, he was just a warm, personable and larger than life individual.

A little background, in Nov 1999, Rivals hired me to be the Indiana high school football editor for Rivals and I opened HoosierPreps.com. The 2020 season was my first covering football and I had a message board that was somewhat active but nowhere near TGD levels, even in those days. I can't remember if Tim found my site first or I found his, but we were online "rivals" (pun intended) but had a mutual respect for what each of us were doing.

When the dotcom bust happened and Rivals went bankrupt, it shut the site down. I reopened it as AlmanacSports.com but didn't even bother to reintroduce the message board because TGD was already so strong.

Tim and I had a meeting set up to talk about merging the sites or at least working more closely together, but it got postponed and ultimately never happened because he passed away 😞

Tim was an awesome guy and I miss him. Thanks @Bobref for starting this thread. Definitely brought back good memories.

I would love to see him inducted into the Indiana Hall of Fame. He definitely deserves it for all his contributions to Indiana High School Football.

Dan "Rudy" Engler

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When I moved to Hancock County in 1998, I largely knew Tim as the really kind DC at Mt. Vernon who loved to talk football. A few months later, I went over to his classroom at MV and interviewed him about the GID for a feature story. We became fast friends, a friendship that developed even more when we became broadcast partners in 2006 when he retired. Tim was one of my best friends. We worked together in some fashion from then until he passed four years later. We always drove together to games and the rides with him were among my favorite times of the week as we'd talk football, family, faith and much more - he'd update me on the church he pastored near Connersville, we'd talk about his daughters and grandkids and my kids, share classroom stories, and most of all, talk football. We had an incredible on-air chemistry. I miss him every fall Friday night. I still use the broadcast equipment he bought for us those years ago. 

Nobody has been more passionate about promoting Indiana high school football. He did so through this site and many other channels. He was beloved by nearly everyone in the high school football community and we miss him. 

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I never got the chance to meet Tim, but I certainly was made to feel welcome by him all those years ago...  which I have no idea on knowing when that was LOL.  I know the forum was a totally different looking beast then.  I did get to meet his daughter at a Linton-Scecina game at Linton when I purchased my treasured GID shirt that still hangs proudly here in Vincennes.   

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Guess I didn't realize I had been on this forum that long.  I swapped messages with Tim many times but only met him in person once -- just a few days before he passed.   He was the real deal and was in it for the right reasons.  And he definitely had a weak spot for linemen.  

I remember him being anxious for the birth of his fourth(?) grandchild who I believe was to be named Gracie.  I got Gracie a onesie that said "Trojan Football" or something similar.  Never got to give it to Tim so I mailed it to his wife instead.  Tim is definitely missed but what a legacy he left.

Thanks for the post Bob.

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I never met TA in person, but I have fond memories of his presence on this forum.  He often chimed in on topics, from 1A all the way to 5A/6A. When he commented everyone else noticed. It was kind of a big deal to me to have him comment on my posts, as I was just a teen when I joined the GID in the mid 2000s. That all seems like a lifetime ago.

TA had a tight grip on this forum and you couldn't swear on here. Even though the board was heavily moderated, the mid to late 2000s were probably the prime of the forum. I remember when the 2008 tournament selection show had a guest amount in the thousands and certain game threads would be dozens of pages long, especially LCC and Roncalli threads.

TA was insanely passionate about football, this forum, and it was an absolute blast back then.

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