The 2026 SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference
The SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference was recently held on April 24-25 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY…
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“Laws Of Base Ball” To Debut At The Hall Of Fame Next Month
As a reminder, next month, as part of the Hall of Fame’s Memorial Day Weekend, Doc Adams’ handwritten “Laws of Base Ball” debuted in the Taking the Field exhibit. The “Laws of Base Ball” will be on long-term loan and on display in the National Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY thanks to their owner, Hayden Trubitt. The documents have been described by the Hall of Fame as follows: The rules of baseball are engrained in the American culture to a magnitude unlike those of almost any other game. But those regulations changed repeatedly as they coalesced in the national … Continue reading →
Unveiling Baseball’s Historic Rules At The Hall of Fame
I just received the latest copy of Memories and Dreams, official magazine of the Hall of Fame. I was a bit taken aback by the article referring to the soon to be unveiled “Taking the Field” exhibit. This exhibit will include the “Laws of Base Ball” and the “Rules for Match Games of Base Ball”. The rules of baseball are engrained in the American culture to a magnitude unlike those of almost any other game. But those regulations changed repeatedly as they coalesced in the national consciousness. Beginning Memorial Day Weekend, visitors to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and … Continue reading →
‘Laws Of Base Ball’ To Be Exhibited At The Hall Of Fame
BREAKING NEWS: DOC ADAMS’ GROUNDBREAKING 1857 ‘LAWS OF BASE BALL’ TO BE DISPLAYED AT THE HALL O FAME. On December 6th, 1856, the Knickerbockers formed a three-man committee headed by Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams (with William Grenelle and Louis Wadsworth) to organize a convention of the New York base ball teams to standardize the rules of the game. Doc Adams, along with Grenelle and Wadsworth then represented the Knickerbockers at baseball’s 1st convention where Adams was elected the presiding officer of the convention and oversaw the development of the set of rules that mark the beginning of modern baseball. Adams’ … Continue reading →
Doc’s Knickerbocker Uniform Buttons
Two uniform buttons from Doc Adams’ Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (ca. 1855). These buttons currently reside in a private collection. They are likely the oldest known surviving piece of baseball uniform with provenance. These are also locked up in a bank vault. We have two buttons that belonged to Doc that are embossed with KBBC on them that they’re a little bit larger than a quarter and they’re studs. They are not regular sew-on buttons. And I showed very detailed pictures of them to Jim Gates at the Hall of Fame at the Library. He’s one of the head researchers … Continue reading →
Doc Adams Appearance On 2016 Hall Of Fame Ballot, Falls Only 2 Votes Short
Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams, MD appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot for the first, and as of now, ONLY time, on the 2016 Per-integration Era ballot. On December 7, 2015, the Pre-integration Era Committee announced the results of the voting on the 10 candidates on the 2016 ballot at the MLB Winter Meetings. Candidates needed to receive 12 of 16 votes (75%) for election. The committee failed to elect any one of the 10 candidates. Doc Adams received the highest vote total, just 2 shy of the required votes required for election. This was Doc’s first time appearing on a … Continue reading →
The National Association
When the Knickerbockers met on December 6, 1856, they resolved “to call a convention of the various base ball clubs of this city and vicinity.” The New York Herald, in reporting on this meeting, observed: “We understand the object of this convention is to promote additional interest in base ball playing, by the getting up of grand matches on a scale not heretofore attempted.” The anticipated outcome would be to inaugurate new clubs and to strengthen existing ones, by conforming the rules and making the game more “scientific” and difficult to play—”manly,” in the preferred term of the day, like … Continue reading →
Doc Adams’ Timeline
Let’s take the opportunity today to review a timeline of the life of Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams.
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 →
The 2025 Classic Baseball Era Ballot
The National Baseball Hall of Fame‘s BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee released the 2025 Classic Baseball Era ballot Monday, November 4, 2024 (or actually Friday the 1st when the first copies of the Hall of Fame’s bi-monthly magazine, Memories and Dreams, were delivered). Once again, there was a glaring omission from the names on the ballot, Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams. Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,But there is no joy in Mudville— the mighty HISTORICAL OVERVIEW COMMITTEE has struck … Continue reading →