1875 Knickerbocker Base Ball Club Reunion Game

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In 1875, at the invitation of his former Knickerbocker teammate, James Whyte Davis, Doc Adams was requested to play in a Knickerbocker Reunion game: “I really hope you will favor me with your company and with old associations and memories dear to all lovers of the game in the good old fashioned Knickerbocker style.” On September 27, 1875, the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club held the reunion game between the 1855  and 1865 teams. The youngsters whitewashed the veterans by a score of 21-0. The following summaries were published in The New York Sun on September 28, 1875, and Forest & … Continue reading →

What Doc Adams Means To Me By Corky Gaskell

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When I started playing vintage base ball in 2009, my baseball history knowledge didn’t go much further back than my youth.  Playing was a lot of fun, but a few years into it, I really wasn’t getting any education out of it. The year I was made captain of my Minnesota vintage club, we hosted annual Vintage Base Ball Association conference.  It was at that conference where I learned that we were not playing base ball by the New York rules and customs.  It was then that I started to really study base ball history. One of the things that … Continue reading →

Should Doc Adams Be In The Hall Of Fame? Of Course!

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The vintage base ball community is rallying behind Doc Adams this year. Teams around the country sponsored “A Pitch For Doc Adams” events this year to honor Adams and raise awareness of his role as a baseball pioneer among ballists and cranks alike. As teams have been holding these events, some recorded and submitted clips about Doc Adams’ Hall of Fame case. These clips were reviewed, selected, and compiled into the following video. Enjoy it! Learn more about Doc Adams and share it with family and friends. Help raise awareness of this long-overlooked baseball pioneer. More information on Doc Adams … Continue reading →

Marjorie On The “Roller Out The Barrel” Vintage Base Ball Podcast

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Matthew Barnard shared this podcast he did with Marjorie in October 2020. Marjorie not only talks about Doc Adams but also talks a little bit about herself. An interesting interview, definitely worth a listen. Thanks again Matthew. For more of Marjorie on Doc Adams, click here.

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Knickerbocker Base Ball Club Founded

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There was a time that a member of the Pre-integration Era Committee touted Wikipedia as a research source he used.. In response to that, the entries related to Doc Adams and the New York Knickerbockers have been greatly enhanced. Hopefully, Wikipedia will not again be a main source for research – how about DocAdamsBaseBall.org?. However, if it is, here is how the founding of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and Doc’s engagement currently reads. While a member of Knickerbocker Engine Company No. 12 of the New York City Fire Department, Alexander Joy Cartwright became involved in playing town ball (a similar game to baseball, and … Continue reading →

FLASHBACK: First Doc Adams Event In Mont Vernon A Great Success

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FLASHBACK: On September 23, 2017, the Doc Adams Invitational relocated to Lamson Farm in Doc Adams’ hometown of Mont Vernon and re-christened the Doc Adams Birthplace Classic. (In 2016, the inaugural Doc Adams Invitational was played in Andover, MA.) To see more of the history of the event, visit our Doc Adams Birthplace Classic page.

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Oliver Wendell Holmes

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While Doc Adams was at Harvard Medical School he made the acquaintance of Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr.), as they roomed at the same boarding house. In a bit of an interesting twist, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. has a tie to baseball as well. According to John Helyar’s classic, “Lords of the Realm,” baseball’s Reserve Clause dated to 1879, when the eight pro teams at the time opted to “reserve” five of their players apiece each year, preventing high salaries and free agency. The arrangement soon drew heated opposition, including in 1915 when owners of the short-lived Federal League brought an … Continue reading →

KBBC Game Ball (HOF)

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The oldest existing game ball from a scheduled baseball match is on display in Cooperstown. It is from the game between the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and the Gothams played on September 20, 1854. Doc Adams played in that game, batting 4th, had 6 Hands Lost and 1 Run scored. The Knickerbockers defeated the Gothams 24-13.

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Doc Adams Birthplace Classic (CANCELLED)

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The Doc Adams Birthplace Classic was planned to be held on Saturday, September 28, in Doc’s hometown as part of Lamson Farm Day. Unfortunately, unforeseen events have led to the cancellation of this year’s event. After much discussion and consideration, it is with regret that we inform the followers of this page [The Knickerbocker Experience Facebook page] and the good folks of Mont Vernon, NH, that the Knickerbocker Experience will not be holding a game on Lamson Farm Day on September 28th. We hope to bring this game back to the Farm in the future. The cancellation was met with … Continue reading →

Bob Lazzari On Doc Adams’ And The Hall Of Fame

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Doc Adams should have been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame a LONG time ago. In 2015, his first time on any Hall of Fame ballot, he got the most votes but fell TWO votes short in the Pre-Integration Era Committee’s voting. Quite frankly, it’s nothing short of a TRAVESTY at this juncture that this man is not enshrined alongside the other greats of baseball. Just SOME of Doc’s contributions to the game: 1) setting the distance between bases at 90 feet 2) an early advocate for nine inning games/nine players per side 3) putting in place the “fly game”, … Continue reading →