On July 31, 2014, Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams (1814 – 1899) was selected as the 19th Century Overlooked Baseball Legend by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). This recognition came in the bi-centennial of his birth.

Each year SABR honors a 19th century player, manager, executive or other baseball personality not yet inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Adams joined the New York Base Ball Club in 1840. By 1845, he became a member of the famed Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and was elected as its president two years later. In 1848, he led the committee to revise the rules and by-laws of the Knickerbockers.

The efforts to have the contributions of Doc Adams recognized by baseball have been led by his great granddaughters, Marjorie Adams of Connecticut, and Nancy Downey of New York City.

The family is very honored and excited about our great-grandfather’s recognition by an organization (SABR) that has a long tradition of pursuing historical truth and accuracy about our national pastime”, said Marjorie Adams.

Other than baseball historians, not many were aware of Doc Adams’ important contributions to the development of baseball at a seminal time in its history. in 2014. Selection as SABR’s 2014 Overlooked Baseball Legend is a prestigious acknowledgement of Adams as one of baseball’s true founding fathers. It’s ben 10 years since he was honored but he’s still on the outside looking in. It represented an important step in the journey to have Adams’ role in the early development of the game recognized with enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame; however, the wait continues.