As early as 1840, Adams played a game in New York that he understood to be baseball, no matter what it was called: with a handful of participants, it was compelled to be a version of cat; with as many as seven or eight, however, it was likely to be baseball — just as it was played by members of the NYBBC or Gotham Ball Club, the ancestor of both the Knicks and the New Yorks.
“Doc Adams”, SABR Bio Project, John Thorn
A brief summary Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams’ 22-year base ball career during baseball’s nascent period is listed below. More detail may be found in the “The Base Ball Years (1840 – 1861)” tab of his biography page.
Doc Adams joined the newly formed Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, one of the first organized base ball teams that played under a set of rules similar to today’s game. He played in the November 18, 1845, intramural game as well as the famous June 19, 1846, game. During his 17 years with the club, he played all positions (except pitcher) and umpired.
While a member of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, he was elected Vice-President in 1846, and President in ’47-’49, ’56, ’57 and ’61, and served as a director in other years.
Adams was elected presiding officer of the first conventions and Rules Committees in 1853 to standardize the rules of the game.
In 1857, he was elected presiding officer of the first convention of New York/Brooklyn base ball clubs and Chair of the Rules Committee to standardize the rules of play, authoring the ‘Laws of Base Ball’.
The 1857 convention founded the National Association of Base Ball Players for which Doc presided as Chair of the Rules Committee until his retirement from the Knickerbockers and the game.
These pages harken back to the time of Doc Adams’ base ball “career” and include photos, scanned articles, and box scores of some of Doc Adams’ key and interesting moments.