Base Ball Founders
William Ryczek writes about Doc Adams in “Base Ball Founders: The Clubs, Players and Cities of the Northeast That Established the Game”.
Continue reading →Memoirs Of The Father Of Base Ball
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
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 →
Stay Home With SABR: Marjorie Adams And Corky Gaskell On Baseball Pioneer Doc Adams
SABR‘s Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter conducted a virtual meeting on Thursday, February 25, 2021. The topic was “Doc Adams’s Role in Early Baseball” with Corky Gaskell and Marjorie Adams. Check out the presentation. To learn more, visit SABR.
Continue reading →Rules Adopted!
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 →
Base Ball Arithmetic
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 →
How Did the Shortstop Position Get Its Name?
Patrick Pinak asked this question in FANBUZZ in his article, “How Did Shortstop Get The Name “Shortstop”?”. Of course, everyone who knows Doc Adams’ story already new the answer. It is re-assuring that more people are becoming aware of Doc and his contributions to the National Pastime. This continues to be important in a year that Dr. Daniel “Lucius” Adams should appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the second time. If he does, and receives enough votes at the 2024 Winter Meetings, he will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Fingers crossed.
Continue reading →An Old Baseball Player
An article in the West Haven Courier reports on the death of “an old baseball player”, recounting Henry Chadwick’s letter to the Sporting Life.
Continue reading →Doc Adams’ Youngest Son’s Recollections Of His Father
Roger Cook Adams wrote the “Nestor of Ball Players” about his father in August 1939. Besides some facts about Doc’s contributions, it’s interesting how Roger Cook Adams highlighted how Doc’s passion for the game was invaluable to the early game, The first five years of the existence of the Club were evidently the hardest. Enthusiasm waned and attendance lagged. There was no inter-club rivalry, and often Dr. Adams would go to Elysian Fields and find only two or three others present, compelling them to play “old cat, one or two as the case might be.” The continued existence of the … Continue reading →
American History Through American Sports
Coombs and Batchelor write about Doc Adams in their book, “American History Through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports, Volume 1“, referencing the work of John Thorn.
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