James A. Adlam (born in 1916 ) was a longtime minor league baseball player and manager who is notable both for feats as a player and as a manager. Playing career Adlam had a lengthy minor league career, which would have been longer if not for World War II. His career began in 1937 and he played until 1942, missing 1943-1945 because of the war. He came back and played from 1946 to 1953. Although he never hit above .275 in a season from 1937 to 1942, Adlam found his hitting stroke after the war and led the Wisconsin State League in batting average in both 1946 and 1947, hitting .375 and .429 respectively (while playing with the Fond du Lac Panthers). He also had respectable power, hitting as many as 20 home runs in a season and hitting ten or more eight times in his 12-year career. Overall, he batted .281 with 130 home runs and 1,124 hits. Managerial career Adlam managed as a player-manager in the New York Yankees organization from 1946 to 1952, and he also managed in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1958 to 1962. In 1948, he led the Quincy Gems to a first place finish in the Three-I League. In 1961, he led the Shelby Colonels to a league championship, after taking over the team in June of that season (replacing Aaron Robinson). He managed players such as Lew Burdette and Steve Blass.
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