The native of Parlier, California, pitched only briefly in Major League Baseball, but had a lengthy career as a scout and coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His one decision came on Memorial Day, when he allowed a game-winning home run to Ray Mueller of the Cincinnati Reds, which capped a six-run, ninth-inning rally and enabled Cincinnati to defeat Chicago, 7–6, at Wrigley Field, in the second game of the holiday doubleheader.

[1] Adams allowed 11 earned runs, 18 hits and seven bases on balls in 12 total innings pitched during his MLB career, with eight strikeouts.

Said 324-game-winning pitcher Don Sutton upon his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July 1998: "No person ever meant more to my career than Red Adams.

"When I joined the [Dodgers in 1972], I was still convinced that I had only a mediocre fastball and that I was going to have to depend chiefly on my breaking pitches to win ball games.