Yearly Archives: 2024

Doc Adams’ Post-Baseball Accomplishments

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When Doc no longer practiced medicine and considered himself fully retired, he became an involved, prominent and respected citizen of the town of Ridgefield, CT.  In 1870, he was elected to one term in the Connecticut State Legislature.  In 1871, he became the first President of the Ridgefield Savings Bank (now the Fairfield County Bank where his photo still hangs in the main office), a position he would hold in two separate terms for ten of the next fifteen years.  He was the first treasurer of the Ridgefield Library (founded in 1871) and involved in the Land Improvement Association.  He … Continue reading →

Peverelly’s “American Pastimes”: 1846-1861

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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.  1846 Doc Adams is elected Vice-president of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club. … Continue reading →

Some Favorite Doc Quotes

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I have learned a lot about Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams over the last decade, and have developed a great admiration for the ballist, the pioneer, the executive, his contributions to the game of baseball, his post-playing career, and his demonstrated love of the game. Noted baseball historian and author, Fred Ivor Campbell, once shared with Marjorie Adams, “Well you know Doc saved baseball“. It can easily be argued that Doc’s love of the game was instrumental in baseball’s development and survival. Please indulge me as I recount some of my favorite Doc quotes today. Some of these quotes were recently … Continue reading →

Baseball’s Radical For All Seasons

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In David Stevens’ book, “Baseball’s Radical For All Seasons” he mentions John Montgomery Ward’s letter crediting Doc Adams’s important role in baseball’s development. When in about the year 1842, or earlier, Dr. D.L. Adams, Alexander J. Cartwright, Colonel James Lee, Duncan F. Curry, E.R. Dupignac, William F. Ladd, and other prominent business and professional men of New York City, seeking some medium for outdoor exercise, turned to the boy’s game of Base Ball, there was not a code of rules nor any written records of the game, and their only guide to the method of playing was their own recollection … Continue reading →

The Call Was Late But There’s Still Time To Answer

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In April of 1905, a call went out from Albert Spalding looking to learn about the “origin of baseball”. Based on the Knickerbocker members he listed; his call was about ten to fifteen years too late. Now granted, the Knickerbockers weren’t really the first base ball club. And yes, Spalding had a personal agenda that eventually led to the establishment of the Abner Doubleday myth. Was Spalding even aware of the Doc Adams interview in the February 29, 1896, issue of the Sporting News (et al)? Not likely. Adams was humble and could not foresee what baseball would become; however, … Continue reading →

Jay Jaffe Of FanGraphs Weighs In On the Classic Baseball Era Ballot

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Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs, who has been a consistent supporter of Doc Adams Hall of Fame candidacy, weighed in on Doc Adams once again being left off the Hall of Fame ballot. I’m far less bothered by their omissions than I am that of an additional SABR Overlooked 19th Century Base Ball Legend, Daniel “Doc” Adams, whom Major League Baseball official historian John Thorn has called “first among the Fathers of Baseball” and “the most significant figure in the early history of baseball.” Adams’ contribution actually predates that 1871 date. Via his 1857 rulebook, “The Laws of Base Ball”, he bears the true … Continue reading →

What’s Wrong With This Picture – The 2025 Classic Baseball Era Ballot

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The National Baseball Hall of Fame‘s BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee released the 2025 Classic Baseball Era ballot Monday, November 4 (or actually Friday the 1st when the first copies of the Hall of Fame’s bi-monthly magazine, Memories and Dreams, were delivered). Once again, there was a glaring omission from the names on the ballot, Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams. The 2025 Historical Baseball Overview Committee: There was another conspicuous omission, an early baseball historian on the committee. Thanks to the Hall of Fame’s most recent restructuring of the Era Committees (formerly the Veteran’s Committee) the Classic Baseball Era ballot spans over … Continue reading →

The Mighty Historical Overview Committee Has Struck Out

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Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,But there is no joy in Mudville— the mighty HISTORICAL OVERVIEW COMMITTEE has struck out. Based on Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s “Casey at the bat” 2015: Doc Adams was named to the 2016 Pre-Integration Era ballot but, the Pre-Integration Era Committee fouled it off by coming up two votes short of election. Strike one! 2021: Even after the re-discovery of Doc Adams’ handwritten “Laws of Base Ball”, the Historical Overview Committee did not see … Continue reading →