Doc Adam’s had a long history as an executive with the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club.

In May of 1846, his first full year with the Knickerbockers, Doc was elected Vice-President of the club and would, over his seventeen years of membership, go on to serve six terms as President (’47, ’48, ’49, ’56, ’57 and ’61) and several terms as a Director.

In 1848, Doc headed the Knickerbocker committee to revise the original rules and regulations from the 1845 formation of the club. And in 1853 with the formation of the Gothams (1850) and the Eagle Base Ball Club (1853), Doc was appointed (along with two other teammates) to be part of the committee at a meeting, requested by the Eagle Club, to standardize the rules of play.

He was elected President of the first baseball convention and Chair of the Rules Committee to standardize the rules of play.

Doc presided as Chair of the Rules Committee from the inception of the National Association of Base Ball Players until his retirement from the Knickerbockers and the game.

This is detailed below from the the perspective of their annual meetings. These extracts are from “Book of American Pastimes, Containing a History of the Principal Base Ball, Cricket, Rowing and Yachting Clubs of the United States“, Charles A. Peverelly, 1866