This Day in History… July 12

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Just came across this on the Jamaica Observer website. 1892: Despite Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams, president of the New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club, authoring documents titled the Laws of Base Ball in 1857 which established the essentials of the modern game, Alexander Cartwright is credited as the American inventor of modern baseball in 1860. Cartwright dies of natural causes at age 72 on this day. “This Day In History – July 12”, Jamaica Observer

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Ridgefield Road Trip

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In 1865, Doc and Cornelia moved to a home in Ridgefield, CT on Main Street (demolished in the 1950s to make way for Ballard Park). Between 1866 and 1874, Cornelia and Doc had four children: two boys and two girls. “For the higher altitude, … for my mother’s health”. Roger Cook Adams (Doc’s son) on why his family moved to Ridgefield While no longer practicing medicine, Doc became active in his new community. In 1870, he was elected to the State House of Representatives and was also the first treasurer of the Ridgefield Library in 1871. In the same year, … Continue reading →

The Knickerbocker Experience Debuts At Gettysburg Next Weekend

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Just a reminder… Next weekend, July 16-17, The Knickerbocker Experience will debut at the Great Gettysburg National 19th Century Base Ball Festival & Tournament in Gettysburg, PA. For more information visit Gettysburg National 19th Century Base Ball Festival 2022 and The Knickerbocker Experience Facebook page.

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In Memory Of Marjorie Adams

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since we lost Marjorie Adams, great-granddaughter of Dr. Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams and his greatest advocate. Although we miss her dearly, today, we remember happier times as we keep her dream alive. Marjorie’s tireless efforts to spread the story of her great-grandfather, Doc Adams, enlightened and inspired many baseball fans. She conducted a campaign to educate people on Doc’s role as a pioneer of our National Pastime and his importance to baseball’s survival and growth during its nascent period. Her goal was to see him recognized with long overdue enshrinement in … Continue reading →

2022 Michigan Vintage Base Ball Festival Remembers Marjorie Adams

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The 2022 Michigan Vintage Base Ball Festival was held June 24-26 in Frankenmuth, MI. As usual, it was successful festival and a grand time was had by all. The Cornhuskers Base Ball Club of Canton successfully defended the Michigan State Cup twice defeating the Bear Clan BBC of Flat Rock, MI and Walker Tavern Wheels of Brooklyn, MI. The following Kings were “crowned”: King of Clubs – Captain’s Match Most Valuable Ballist: Mark Pisanello, The Crossing Rails BBC of Alliance, OH King of Diamonds – Gingerly Gentleman: Joe Terwilliger, Cornshuckers Base Ball Club of Canton, MI King of Spades – … Continue reading →

“Laws of Base Ball” Debuted At The Oregon Historical Society

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The Oregon Historical Society’s Baseball’s Magna Carta: Setting the Rules of America’s Game Exhibit opened on July 1, 2016. The public debut of the “Laws of Base Ball” authored by Doc Adams which sold, at auction, for a baseball document record $3,263,246. The papers were first exhibited in Portland because the new owner, who chooses to remain anonymous, is a “friend of the historical society.” The documents “thoroughly change the early history of baseball,” the historical society states. The 1857 documents are the “first written-down rules of what became the modern game,” Oregon Historical Society Executive Director Kerry Tymchuk told … Continue reading →

The Father Of The National Game Still Living In New Haven

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So far the earliest reference we have found referring to Dr. Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams, M.D. as a “Father of Baseball” in June 23, 1895. That was 12 years before the Mills Commission created the Doubleday myth and 43 years before Alexander Cartwright was elected into the Hall of Fame. This article was in a column called “Side Lights On The Ball Field” in the Chicago Chronicle. The piece teases the article with “The Father of the National Game Still Living In New Haven” and starts out with “Father of Baseball”. Doc Adams was re-discovered by John Thorn, Official Historian … Continue reading →

First Base Ball Game At Elysian Fields

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What is often referred to as the first recorded game played under the Knickerbocker Rules (now believed to be yet another intrasquad game), took place on June 19, 1846. The Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club (aka “the New York Nine”) 23–1 in four innings. Elysian Fields First Game The enduring fame of this particular game and of its players is the product of circumstance and self-aware myth-making. As the official historian of Major League Baseball, John Thorn, has written: “The history of baseball is a lie from beginning to end, from its creation myth to its rosy … Continue reading →

The Knickerbocker Experience

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As we know, the “Special” Early Baseball Overview Committee inexplicably left Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams, M.D. off the 2022 Early Baseball Era Ballot. At the time, we indicated that this would not deter us from continuing our education campaign and its goal of seeing Doc Adams rightfully enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We’d like to share a new, effort that brings Doc Adams and the Knickerbockers to life, a brainchild of Jeff “Pinetar” Kornhaas, The Knickerbocker Experience. The Knickerbocker Experience, offers an opportunity to play the game as historically accurate as possible.  “Rules aren’t bent” or “exceptions … Continue reading →

The Bat And Ball Letter

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On June 15, 1832, Doc Adams received a letter from his 11-year old sister that has become known as the “Bat and Ball letter“. In the letter his sister Nancy sent to him at school, she said, “I have not played with your bat and ball as you bid me. I forget it every morning and indeed I have not seen it since you went away”. It is the earliest known evidence of Doc’s interest in the game. Doc was at Yale when he received this letter from his father with all the usual admonitions of you’re not studying hard … Continue reading →