But Didn’t We Have Fun?

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Peter Morris highlights how Doc Adams’ passion for baseball was critical to game’s early survival in his book, But Didn’t We Have Fun?, The book has been described as: Mr. Morris retrieves a lost era and a lost way of life. Offering a challenging new perspective on baseball’s earliest years, and conveying the sense of delight that once pervaded the game and its players, Mr. Morris supplants old myths with a story just as marvelous-but one that really happened.  “We have already seen that the Knickerbockers became so apathetic about the game that Daniel Adams claimed to ‘have to employ … Continue reading →

Peverelly’s “American Pastimes”: 1858

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Doc Adams is mentioned often in Charles A. Peverelly’s 1868 book, “American Pastimes – Containing a History of the Principal Base Ball, Cricket, Rowing, and Yachting Clubs of the United States“. The Book of American Pastimes  is an American classic and one of the most significant baseball books ever written and is considered the first “official” baseball history in existence. 180 pages out of 556 are devoted to the game of baseball and team histories. It contains tough to find information regarding rosters and game scores during the 1850’s-60’s. 

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Major League Baseball Profiles

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David Nemec, American baseball historian, novelist and playwright, provides an interesting profile of Doc Adams in his book, “Major League Baseball Profiles, 1871-1900, Volume 2: The Hall of Famers and Memorable Personalities Who Shaped the Game“. This 2-volume series is described as: More than a collection of mere facts and statistics, Major League Baseball Profiles provides a unique history of the evolution of major league baseball, from the date of the first major league game in 1871 through the 1900 season, which marked not only the close of a century but also the unofficial end of what many believe to be the … Continue reading →

Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams First, Gunsmoke Second

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I want to get Doc’s story out there. I want to educate people so that automatically when they hear the name Doc Adams, they don’t think of Gunsmoke first. They think of Gunsmoke second. You see, that’s okay, Gunsmoke was a very fine television program. It didn’t last as long as Doc did playing base ball but, I don’t think, I’d have to check that with Wikipedia. … I will just keep hammering away, you know it’s like throwing those dirty socks up at the ceiling. Some of them got to stick sometimes. And someday they will. You never know. … Continue reading →

The Gotham And The Knickerbockers

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On October 18, 1853, the Gotham and the Knickerbockers played what was referred to “the finest and at one time the closest match, that has ever been played between the two clubs”. The Knickerbockers prevailed by a score of 21-14 with Doc Adams scoring 3 runs.

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The First Shortstop

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Due to the unfortunate postponement of the Induction of the Class of 2020, we had an opportunity for a very unique situation with the 2021 Hall of Fame Induction. Derek Jeter is the latest shortstop to be elected as a member of the Class of 2020. Jeter is the 26th shortstop to be bestowed the honor of a plaque in Cooperstown. If the Early Baseball Era Committee elected Doc Adams as a member of the Class of 2021, Jeter would be inducted alongside the man who created the shortstop position. Alas, it was not meant to be as the Early … Continue reading →

Final Petition Update

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Our petition to recognize Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams’s role as a founding father of our National Pastime has garnered 2,072 signatures! Marjorie Adams set a lofty goal for petition signatures! Although, we did not achieve her goal, it was still a successful effort! We continue the Doc Adams education campaign in her honor. The show of support via our petition demonstrates that we are successfully communicating Doc Adams’s story. Additionally, it demonstrates support for Hall of Fame recognition of an individual who independant historians view as an important founding father of our National Pastime. Our hope is that Doc is … Continue reading →

Baseball Rules And Medical Practices

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In our continuing quest to find more Doc Adams references, we came across an article in the Spring 1999 Harvard Medical Alumni magazine. The excellent article, “Baseball Rules”, by James S. Distlehorst is extremely accurate. The article summarizes Doc’s base ball life and contributions, and also includes his post-baseball life. An interesting addendum is another article by Distlehorst, “Treating the Knickerbockers”. It describes the medical practices of the time and what Adams’ practice would be like and the care he would provide. You can read both articles here or within the complete magazine edition on Internet Archive. Distlehorst quotes two … Continue reading →

Peverelly’s “American Pastimes”: 1857

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Doc Adams is mentioned often in Charles A. Peverelly’s 1868 book, “American Pastimes – Containing a History of the Principal Base Ball, Cricket, Rowing, and Yachting Clubs of the United States“. The Book of American Pastimes  is an American classic and one of the most significant baseball books ever written and is considered the first “official” baseball history in existence. 180 pages out of 556 are devoted to the game of baseball and team histories. It contains tough to find information regarding rosters and game scores during the 1850’s-60’s. 

Continue reading →

The American National Game Of Base Ball (1856)

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The December 6, 1856 issue of Porter’s Spirit of the Times provided a season wrap-up of sorts including a description of the pioneer Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and its ballists. Of course, this includes a shorts capsule of the good doctor. The principal players in the club, and have usually composed their ‘First Nine’, … Adams, as short field has for many years, been deservedly distinguished. Excellent as a catcher and probably the most accurate thrower in any club. A ball sent by him to first base rarely fails in proving fatal to the runner. He strikes with great force, … Continue reading →