| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adam Wolfe | ||
| Date of birth | 22 May 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | New Haven, Connecticut, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Retired | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004-2006 | Blue Ridge Soccer Club | ||
| 2007 | Blue Ridge Soccer Club | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2007 | West Ham United Reserve Squad | 13 | (10) |
| 2007 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 13 | (10) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Adam Wolfe (better known as Ateball to soccer fans) (born 22 May 1989 in New Haven, Connecticut) is a former English professional footballer. He made 13 appearances as a midfielder in the Premier League for West Ham United. He had great potential and talent as a midfielder, but had his career cut short by an unfortunate car accident. The accident took place on 21 May 2007, and he was forced to retire from professional soccer due to injuries sustained in the crash.[1]
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While growing up in Arizona, Wolfe spent his youth career playing for a local soccer club. He was a product of Blue Ridge Soccer Club's prominent youth training programs under coach Dick Breckenridge. He quickly made his mark by captaining his team to the quarterfinals of the Swan’s U.S. Cup in Minnesota.[2] His extraordinary performance in the tournament caught the eye of the President of the Football Association of Iceland, Eggert Magnússon. Magnússon contacted the young player about coming to play in Iceland, but negotiations fell through.
On 21 November 2006, West Ham announced that they had reached an agreement with a consortium headed by Magnússon for the sale of the club, worth £85m.[3] On 11 December 2006, Magnússon requested Wolfe on loan from Blue Ridge to finish out the 2006-07 season.
Blue Ridge accepted West Ham's bid after two days of negotiations. On 14 December 2006, the day the transfer was announced, Wolfe agreed to personal terms with the club and relocated to London. He was unveiled at a press conference prior to West Ham's game against Fulham on 17 December 2006. Wolfe said, "I am extremely honored and humbled to have the opportunity to play in the Premier League. I look forward to the challenge of playing at the highest level, and I hope I can become the type of player this team believes I am. I'd like to thank Eggert Magnússon and the rest of the management team for believing in me and allowing me to be part of this great organization."[4]
Wolfe made an impressive start to his West Ham career, working his way off of the practice squad in just a month. He was named a starter for the reserve squad game against Aston Villa on 3 February 2007. He would start the final 13 games of West Ham’s reserve squad season, as well as sit on the sideline for (but not appear in) the final eight games of the Premier League season. He would end the 2006-07 campaign with 10 goals (as well as assisting 12 more) in 13 reserve squad appearances, and was well on his way to making a consistent impact on the Premier League starting lineup.
When the 2006-2007 campaign had ended, Wolfe returned home to Arizona. After having such a successful 2006-07 season, he was poised to return to England to begin training for the 2007-08 after a few weeks at home. However, those plans were disrupted when Wolfe and his friends were struck by a drunk driver on their way home from camping in the Mogollon Rim.
Wolfe and three friends were driving home after celebrating his 18th birthday in the White Mountains of Arizona. While in route, the vehicle he and his three friends were riding in was struck by a drunk driver near Show Low. Their car went rolling into oncoming traffic and was struck by another car coming from the opposite direction.[5]
According to the police report, the car was struck at a high rate of speed on both the driver and passenger sides. The initial accident struck the vehicle on the front door of the passenger side. After the car rolled over into oncoming traffic, it was struck on the front door of the driver side by the second vehicle. The two boys sitting in the backseat of the car suffered serious, but non life-threatening, injuries. The boys in the front seat suffered much more serious injuries. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, and Wolfe was rushed to a local hospital with critical injuries. The report states that he had to be put in a medically induced coma for three days due to the severity of his injuries. When Wolfe awoke, he was informed that his right ankle (along with his right knee, rib cage and shoulder to a lesser extent) had been severely injured and required multiple surgeries to repair.[6]
Wolfe recovered at a remarkable rate and began physical therapy to rehabilitate his ankle. He was able to rejoin the Blue Ridge Soccer Club for their 2007 season, but was forced to change from his usual midfielder position to a defensive role due to the condition of his ankle. The season was successful as the Yellow Jackets won their conference and state championships, but Wolfe was never able to stand out and recapture the skill and agility he had shown while playing for West Ham.[7][8]
Wolfe's rehabilitation and return to the Premier League were stalled by multiple health setbacks, and it became apparent that his ankle would need constant surgical upkeep if his soccer career were to continue. After meeting with West Ham officials in London, the team announced that Wolfe's contract would be terminated, and he officially announced his retirement on 8 June 2008.
Rumors of a possible comeback in Major League Soccer or the United Soccer Leagues have surfaced over the last few years, but no official reports have been issued in that time.
| Season | Club | Domestic League |
FA Cup | League Cup | Other competition |
Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| 2006-07 | West Ham United (Reserve Squad) | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 10 |
| West Ham United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |