Percy Adamson

Percy Adamson
Personal information
Date of birth April 10, 1889
Place of birth Adlington, Lancashire, U.K.
Date of death April 7, 1969(1969-04-07) (aged 79)
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position Center forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Brooklyn Field Club
Managerial career
1914 Columbia Lions
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Percy Adamson (April 10, 1889 – April 7, 1969) was an early twentieth-century British-born American inventor and soccer player. He is the inventor of lastex, and was captain of the Brooklyn Field Club when it won the 1914 National Challenge Cup.

Early life and career

Born in Adlington, Lancashire on April 10, 1889, Adamson was one of five children—five boys and one girl—born to James and Eliza Ann Adamson. In the summer of 1910, the Adamsons emigrated to the United States. Following a one-week voyage aboard the RMS Caronia, the family disembarked at Ellis Island on July 31.

By November of that year, Adamson was playing with the Brooklyn Field Club, and in the spring of 1912, he filed his declaration of intent to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

On May 16, 1914, Adamson scored the first goal in the final of the 1914 National Challenge Cup which was the first time this tournament was held. In September 1916, while living in Sheepshead Bay, New York he was still listed with the Brooklyn Field Club.

In September 1914, he became the head coach of the Columbia University soccer team.

Personal life

From August 1914 until his death, Adamson was married to fellow British expat Lillian Dutton. The marriage produced two children, a son and daughter.

Adamson died, aged 79, on April 7, 1969, three days before his 80th birthday, at his home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. He was survived by his wife and two children.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "New York, U.S. District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1824-1991", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6TMC-QZF6 : Tue Apr 15 06:40:16 UTC 2025), Entry for Percy Adamson, 26 Sep 1912.
  2. ↑ Babcock, Glenn D. (1966). History of the United States Rubber Company : A Case Study in Corporation Management. Bloomington, IN: Bureau of Business Research. p. 325–326. LCCN 67-63530. "Percy Adamson's Idea: Percy Adamson, born in the heart of the English textile industry, had come to this country in 1910 as the sales agent for several English tex¬ tile companies. He conceived the idea of making a fine elastic yarn by wrapping silk, cotton, wool, or any other nonelastic fibrous thread around an elastic core and using the resulting yarn in a knitting machine.21 When he found that a rubber thread fine enough for his purpose could be made by United States Rubber by extruding an elastic core from latex, he applied for a patent. (The extruding invention had been developed and patented by Ernest Hopkinson and W. A. Gibbons.) During the early part of 1930, Adamson assigned his rights under the patent to the rubber company, which then set about providing adequate manufacturing facilities. Adamson was appointed exclusive selling agent with complete control of distribution of Lastex (the name of the new product was coined from the words 'elastic' and 'textile')."
  3. ↑ Wangerin, David (2011). Distant Corners : American Soccer's History of Missed Opportunities and Lost Causes. Philadelphia : Temple University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4399-0631-6. "Creighton, the referee, tried to keep everything under control: he was said to have warned Field Club’s center-forward Percy Adamson about 'rough playing' four times in the first five minutes. Aware of the threat posed by Adamson and Millar, Celtic rolled up their sleeves. One report claimed [...] that Dave Flanagan, 'a diminutive but fearless back,' was responsible for 'blocking' Millar and Adamson 'so hard time after time that they threatened to mix matters with him and had to be held back by their team mates.' [...] Millar, though not scoring himself, played his usual influential role:
  4. ↑ "United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKV7-7QFV : Sun Mar 29 16:04:07 UTC 2026), Entry for Percy Adamson and Ruth Adamson, 25 Apr 1942.
  5. ↑ "DEATH NOTICES". The Brooklyn Daily Times. March 16, 1925. p. 2. Retrieved May 17, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. ADAMSON -On Friday, March 13, at her residence, 2413 Ocean , beloved wife James ave., ELIZA A., Adamson and mother of James, Harold, Percy, Thomas, Seth and Florence Elizabeth. Funeral service will be held at Emanuel Episcopal Church, Sheepshead Bay, on Wednesday, March 18, at 2 P. M. Interment Greenwood Cemetery.
  6. ↑ "DEATHS". Brooklyn Eagle. May 11, 1940. p. 9. Retrieved May 17, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. ADAMSON - JAMES, at Brook Farm, Purchase, N. Y., the residence of his son, Percy, and beloved husband of the late Eliza Ann Adamson; father of James H., Florence E. Martin, Percy, Thomas and Seth, on May 10.
  7. ↑ "New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1925", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JJJP-32K : Fri May 15 05:18:41 UTC 2026), Entry for Percy Adamson and Thomas Adamson, 31 July 1910.
  8. ↑ Brooklyn Protests Ansonia Game
  9. ↑ The US Open Cup Final: 1914-2010
  10. ↑ Full List of Registered Amateur Players: February 16, 1916[dead link]
  11. ↑ Columbia Engages Soccer Coach
  12. ↑ Ross, Kay (August 6, 1935). "Socially in Westchester". The Daily Item. p. 6. Retrieved May 17, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Mr. and Mrs. Percy Adamson celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary Saturday night at a West- dinner on the terrace of the chester Country Club where the Adamsons have an apartment for the Summer. Mr. Adamson is head of the Lastex Company.
  13. 1 2 3 "DEATH NOTICES". The Daily Item. April 8, 1969. p. 6. Retrieved May 17, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. ADAMSON, Percy, Suddenly at his resldence, 396 South Beach Old Greenwich, Conn., Monday April 7, 1969, beloved husband of Lillian Dutton Adamson, father of Ronald D. Adamson and Mrs. David W. Foster,
  14. ↑ "United States, Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4GN-DFZ : Thu Jan 16 20:12:29 UTC 2025), Entry for Percy Adamson and Lillian Adamson, 1930.
  15. ↑ "Marriage Licenses". Brooklyn Eagle. August 1, 1914. p. 9. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Percy Adamson, 25 ... 1138 East 7th St. – Lillian Dutton, 26 ... 1138 East 7th St.