Yearly Archives: 2026

Remembering The First Baseball Convention

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On March 7, 2023, Fox News recalled 166th anniversary of the first national convention of base ball players. In the article, “On this day in history, March 7, 1857, baseball adopts nine players, nine innings as standard of competition“, The article does, albeit briefly, mention Doc Adams: The forgotten titan of the game is Cartwright’s fellow Knickerbocker Daniel “Doc” Adams, say baseball historians. “Considered by some to be the true ‘Father of Baseball,’ ‘Doc’ Adams was elected president of the first Base Ball Convention in 1857,” Miklich writes. “On this day in history, March 7, 1857, baseball adopts nine players, nine … 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 →

Memoirs Of The Father Of Base Ball

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On February 29, 1896, the Sporting News published an article on Dr. D. L. Adams sub-titled ‘Memoirs of the Father of Base Ball’. The article is based on an interview of Doc and details his contributions to the nascent National Pastime. In a pleasant home on quiet Edwards street, lives Dr. Daniel L. Adams, who undoubtedly, more than any other man in the country, is entitled to be called the Father of Base Ball. His brother-in-law, William S. Briggs of Keene, N.H., makes this claim for him, and the facts bear it out. Dr. Adams was born in Mt. Vernon, … Continue reading →

Doc Appointed Delegate To The 1st Convention Of Base Ball Clubs

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At a meeting held February 27, 1858, Messrs. D. L. Adams and W. H. Grenelle were appointed delegates to the first convention of Base Ball Clubs, to be held on the 10th of March. The first meeting of the Convention was held on the 10th of March, 1858, and the following clubs represented by two delegates each : Knickerbocker, Gotham, Eagle, Empire, Putnam, Baltic, Excelsior, Atlantic, Harlem, Eckford, Continental, Union, Metropolitan, Columbian, Osceola, Oriental, Stuyvesant, Hamilton, Pastime, Liberty (of New Brunswick), Monument, Amity, St Nicholas, Nassau, and Mutual. A resolution was adopted declaring the Convention a permanent organization, and a … Continue reading →

Rules Adopted!

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The 1857 Convention of Base Ball Players met for the second and final time on February 25 at Smith’s Hotel, the headquarters of the Knickerbocker Club, with the following clubs represented: Knickerbocker, Gotham, Eagle, Empire, Putnam, Baltic, Excelsior, Atlantic, Harmony, Harlem, Eckford, Bedford, Narrau, and Continental. The clubs elected Daniel Adams of the Knickerbockers as president of the convention and then appointed a rules committee, made up of one member of each represented club. This was perhaps the most important meeting in the history of baseball. It was a meeting of the baseball clubs of New York City, and unlike … Continue reading →

Reminiscences Of The Late Dr. Daniel Adams

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On January 31, 1899, Henry Chadwick wrote to the editor of Sporting Life with reminiscences of his late friend and baseball pioneer, Dr. Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams. The letter was published on the front page of the February 4, 1899 edition. On that same day, Doc Adams was also remembered by Mr Chadwick in The Sporting News.

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Never Too Early To Think About Homework

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Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs made a great point prior to Doc Adams eligibility for the 2021 (2022) Hall of Fame ballot. Unfortunately, the homework wasn’t done, and Adams astonishingly did not appear on the ballot. Nor was the homework done for the 2025 ballot. Here’s hoping that the 2028 ballot will be different; however, it won’t be if the work isn’t done. Here’s are the thoughts on Doc Adams that Jay Jaffe expressed in Sports Illustrated back in December 2015: Doc Adams, pioneerRoll over, Abner Doubleday, and tell Alexander Cartwright the news. No less an authority than MLB official historian … Continue reading →

1857 Convention Of Base Ball Players

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The 1857 Convention of Base Ball Players met for the first time on January 22 at Smith’s Hotel, the headquarters of the Knickerbocker Club, with the following clubs represented: Knickerbocker, Gotham, Eagle, Empire, Putnam, Baltic, Excelsior, Atlantic, Harmony, Harlem, Eckford, Bedford, Narrau, and Continental. The clubs elected Daniel Adams of the Knickerbockers as president of the convention and then appointed a rules committee, made up of one member of each represented club. This was perhaps the most important meeting in the history of baseball. It was a meeting of the baseball clubs of New York City, and unlike the previous … Continue reading →

Doc’s Yale Auto-biography

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The following auto-biography is from the “Biographical and Historical Record of the Class of 1835 in Yale College, for the Fifty Years from the Admission of the Class to College” published in 1881 by Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, Printers, 371 State Street, New Haven, CT.

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