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.
Continue reading →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 →
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.
Continue reading →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 →
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 →
MLB’s Historian John Thorn has called him “The True Father of Baseball.” He was largely responsible for the innovations that created the “New York game” of baseball, such as a 9-player game, setting the basepath length at 90 feet, and inventing the position of shortstop. These innovations set the New York game apart from the various bat-and-ball games that were common at the time. He was chairman of the first convention of baseball players, in May 1857. At the convention the following year, he chaired the vital Committee on Rules and Regulations. He prepared and presented a first draft of … Continue reading →
The Doc Adams Memorial Classic was held on Saturday, September 16, 2023 to honor baseball pioneer Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams, M.D., one of baseball’s most consequential, yet overlooked, pioneers. Adams was a founding father of base ball and author of 1857 Laws of Base Ball. In 2023, the Doc Adams Birthplace Classic took a brief hiatus, as play shifted to Connecticut as the Doc Adams Memorial Classic. This marked the first time the annual event was hosted in the state where Doc Adams attended college (at Yale) and spent his “retirement” years. After his playing days, Adams moved to Ridgefield … Continue reading →
Chat Mode, Microsoft Bing Search a web search engine that can help you find information and answers on the internet. It is a web search engine that can also chat with you and generate various types of content such as poems, stories, code and more. It uses Artificial Intelligence techniques to understand your queries and provide relevant and engaging responses. In response to the question, “How would you assess Doc Adams case for inclusion in the National Baseball Hall of Fame?”, it responded, “I think Doc Adams has a very strong case for inclusion in the National Baseball Hall of … Continue reading →
When I give baseball history presentations, I usually begin by saying that “As we all know, Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York.” The statement is usually greeted with laughs and smiles reflecting the increasing awareness that Doubleday had nothing to do with baseball’s beginnings. But this relatively frequent reaction should not lead us to become complacent. Any such thoughts got a rude awakening when I recently learned of a sign in Mendham, New Jersey proclaiming that Doubleday, who once lived there, was baseball’s “founder.” It’s wrong, wrong, wrong! Not only is there no evidence, Doubleday invented baseball, to … Continue reading →
In 1875, at the invitation of his former Knickerbocker teammate, James Whyte Davis, Doc Adams was requested to play in a Knickerbocker Reunion game. No 17 University PlaceNew York, Sept. 13, 1875 My old Knickerbocker friend, My twenty fifth anniversary of membership in the old Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York will occur on Monday the 27th I greatly desire to meet all my old Base Ball associates upon this occasion and I cordially invite you to be present and participate in the game at 3 PM after which a collation will be served at Drake’s Hotel Hoboken (first … Continue reading →