Mayor Justin M. Elicker and the City of New Haven, CT recognized and honored Doc Adams on September 16, 2023 on the occasion of the Doc Adams Memorial Classic. This is part of our “Speaking of Doc” series.
Continue reading →The Fashion Race Course games were played between All-Star teams (pick nines) comprised of the finest New York area players versus the finest Brooklyn area players and was the 1st real All-Star Series. It was also the 1st time admission was charged to watch a game. None other than Doc Adams of the Knickerbocker Club was selected to be the umpire for the third and deciding game of this first championship “series” between New York and Brooklyn. In the game, umpire Adams called non-swinging strikes, the first time that new rule was applied. The second bane of Chadwick’s existence, in addition to swift pitching, … Continue reading →
If you want to learn about Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams, his life, and his contributions to our National Pastime and have a little time (about a half an hour), then check out this video presentation. If you don’t have that much time you can get a reader’s digest (e.g. social media reel) version of his baseball contributions in: Do You Know Doc Adams?
Continue reading →There’s a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, for a reputed figure in early baseball history. His name is Alexander Cartwright. He is credited for making the bases 90 feet apart, establishing nine innings as a game, and nine players for a team. He is also credited with spreading baseball throughout the United States when he left New York on his way to Hawaii. These are wonderful contributions for the man credited as The Father of Baseball. However, even though he has a plaque in the Baseball HOF, he is not the person responsible for … Continue reading →
As an educator and historian it is essential for us to consistently reexamine and reassess our interpretation of history and the impact and influence that people, events, and places have on that history. Thankfully MLB and the Baseball HOF have started this process with reexamining the Negro League and the statistics of those players. I am not going to rehash the many deeds that Doc Adams did to contribute to the game of baseball, as many of my fellow players and historians have already done but I think it is time for the baseball community to acknowledge and celebrate the … Continue reading →
At the Fleischmanns 2021 Labor Day Street Fair, Collin ‘Stumpy’ Miller collected signatures for our Doc Adams’ petition. This was the second of two events in 2021 at Fleischmanns that garnered support for Doc Adams (Fleischmanns Mountain Athletic Club & Mudville Base Ball Club Raise Awareness). Of special interest was the last person to sign the petition at the end of the day, Chris Moore. Moore’s great grandfathers’ uncle was Charle DeBost, who was a teammate of Doc’s on the 1859 Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and pictured to the immediate left of Doc (Doc’s right) in the famous photo on display … Continue reading →
In the ‘great’ match between the Knickerbocker and Gotham Clubs, won by Gotham 21-7m Doc Adams led off and tallied 2 runs. Per the New York Daily Times, “There was some fine batting by Dr. Adams…” The New York Clipper didn’t see fit to provide many additional details as “Where all exerted themselves so zealously, it seems out of place to go into details.” “Gotham Club of New York v Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York on 5 September 1856” on Protoball.
Continue reading →“Anyone looking for the origins and development of the “New York Game,” what we know as baseball, invariably runs into “Doc” Adams at nearly every turn. The Doubleday and Cartwright founding myths have long been exploded. Yet, the man who was, to use a popular phrase, “in the room where it happened” and actually was the catalyst remains un-honored by the HOF. Now is the time to correct that error.” Robert D. Sampson, Historian “Doc” Adams was selected by a SABR wide election in 2014, as an Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend, implying that he is deserving, but not yet … Continue reading →
As a historian, I care about accuracy and preserving what really happened in baseball’s history. Enshrining Doc Adams in the Hall of Fame would be a great way to honor this. The creator of this website, Roger J. Ratzenberger, Jr. does a nice job of summing up Adams’ accomplishments. I’ll offer them here for anyone who hasn’t read that post yet. Essentially, Adams, the president of New York City’s Knickerbocker Base Ball Club led a committee that codified various rules for the game, including that bases were to be 90 feet apart, games were to last nine innings and teams … Continue reading →
Help us SHARE Doc Adams’ story with friends, on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, … Special thanks to Jake Schmidt for all his efforts on the “Do You Know Doc Adams?” videos. Did you know that the game of baseball as we know it today was significantly shaped by a man named Doc Adams in the mid-1800s? He wasn’t just a player; but was a pioneer who helped craft the foundation of the modern game. John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball, referred to Doc Adams as “Baseball’s most important figure not in the Hall of Fame… More than … Continue reading →