Yearly Archives: 2020

Peverelly’s “American Pastimes”: 1846

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Doc Adams is mentioned often in Charles A. Peverelly’s 1868 book, “American Pastimes – Containing a History of the Principal Base Ball, Cricket, Rowing, and Yachting Clubs of the United States“. The Book of American Pastimes  is an American classic and one of the most significant baseball books ever written and is considered the first “official” baseball history in existence. 180 pages out of 556 are devoted to the game of baseball and team histories. It contains tough to find information regarding rosters and game scores during the 1850’s-60’s. 

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Doc is Bank’s 1st President

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In 1871, Doc Adams became the first President of the Ridgefield Savings Bank (now the Fairfield County Bank, a position he would hold in two separate terms for ten of the next fifteen years. In fact, his photo still hangs in the lobby of the main office/ Fairfield County Bank is proud with their affiliation with a Founding Father of our National Pastime and they continue to support our cause as evidenced in their recent Facebook post. To see Ridgefield Bank’s post click here. Hopefully next year Fairfield County Bank will be able to brag that their 1st President is … Continue reading →

Base Ball Arithmetic

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Doc’s father, Daniel Adams MD (1773-1864) was born in Townsend, Massachusetts and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1797 and from the second class of Dartmouth Medical School in 1799. As well as being a practicing physician, he also authored widely used arithmetic and geography textbooks (the former was in use from 1801 to c.1864). In the measurement section of his Arithmetic book, question # 11 (below) is of particular interest. Someone who would have no difficulty solving that problem was his son, Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams. Doc Adams started playing base ball in 1839. He played for … Continue reading →

Baseball Americana at the Library of Congress

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Two years ago, The Library of Congress hosted the Baseball Americana exhibition.  The ‘Laws of  Base Ball” authored by Doc Adams was the centerpiece of this major, year-long exhibition. The exhibition explored baseball’s past and present and how the game forged a sense of community for players and fans across the country. “The founding documents of baseball that would shape the modern game as our national pastime were ironed out in January and February 1857 at a convention called by the Knickerbockers Base Ball Club in New York City. Corrections were made by hand as the details were negotiated by … Continue reading →

Petition Signatures Exceed 1,250

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Not too long ago, our petition to recognize Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams’s role as a founding father of our National Pastime exceeded 1,000 signatures. We have now exceeded 1,250! The recognition being sought is his enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The show of support via the petition demonstrates that we are successfully telling Doc Adams story. When this journey started, few had heard of the great doctor. “He’s the true father of baseball and you’ve never heard of him,” John Thorn (the Official Baseball Historian of MLB) told The Associated Press in a phone interview. John Thorn‘s … Continue reading →

Doc Adams Old Time Base Ball Festival CANCELLED!

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Sadly, the 23rd Doc Adams Old Time Base Ball Festival that is held at Old Bethpage Village Restoration has been CANCELLED. The Festival has fallen victim to the Coronavirus pandemic. The longest running Vintage Base Ball festival was renamed in honor of Doc Adams in 2015. This is an important year as hopefully Doc will be elected by the Early Base Ball Era Committee in December for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. We’ll look forward to the 2021 Festival!

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