If you want to learn about Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams, his life, and his contributions to our National Pastime and have a little time (about a half an hour), then check out this video presentation. If you don’t have that much time you can get a reader’s digest (e.g. social media reel) version of his baseball contributions in: Do You Know Doc Adams?
Continue reading →“Anyone looking for the origins and development of the “New York Game,” what we know as baseball, invariably runs into “Doc” Adams at nearly every turn. The Doubleday and Cartwright founding myths have long been exploded. Yet, the man who was, to use a popular phrase, “in the room where it happened” and actually was the catalyst remains un-honored by the HOF. Now is the time to correct that error.” Robert D. Sampson, Historian “Doc” Adams was selected by a SABR wide election in 2014, as an Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend, implying that he is deserving, but not yet … Continue reading →
A seminal interview of Daniel Lucius Adams, M.D. appeared in The Sporting News on February 29, 1896. This is the only known first-hand account of Doc’s memories of the game. Similar interviews (or excerpts) began to appear in newspapers across the Midwest apparently originating in The Chicago Chronicle on June 23, 1895. These short reels were shared as a “Doc In His Own Words” series. The Chicago Chronicle (June 23, 1895) The Sporting News (February 29,1896)
Continue reading →As part of our awareness efforts this year, we shared a number of short videos about Doc Adams events and support. Due to the response, we will continue using this format in the future, Here’s a sample of this year’s videos in case you missed them.
Continue reading →Well, we had hoped that Doc Adams would be on a Hall of Fame ballot for the 2nd time. The first time, in 2015 (on the 2016 Pre-integration Era ballot), Adams missed election by just 2 votes! The Classic Baseball Era Committee has a short time to get to know the 8 candidates. They have a brief time to discuss them as a group and are heavily dependent on the historian(s) on the committee. With previous reports of the process, we thought we would try to help the committee with their research. Although that is no longer necessary since the … Continue reading →
To the National Baseball Hall of Fame, It was disappointing to see the BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee strike out once again. “One of the first things that I recognized was that we couldn’t wait until 2031 to look at some of these candidates,” said Rawich, referring to those from the Negro Leagues and Early Baseball period. “Having gone through it this last time around, we saw some great conversation around various candidates.” “The Hall of Fame Shakes Up its Era Committee System Yet Again”, Jay Jaffe, FanGraphs (4/26/2022) Obviously the 2025 Classical Baseball Era ballot did not achieve this objective … Continue reading →
To the National Baseball Hall of Fame Historical Overview Committee, It was disappointing to see the Historical Overview Committee strike out once again. “One of the first things that I recognized was that we couldn’t wait until 2031 to look at some of these candidates,” said Rawich, referring to those from the Negro Leagues and Early Baseball period. “Having gone through it this last time around, we saw some great conversation around various candidates.” The committee obviously didn’t do too well on this front as 6 of the 8 candidates were active post-1960. The other 2 candidates were from the … Continue reading →
In response to a “challenge” post to share a video about the Hall of Fame moment or artifact from the Hall with the tag #nationalbaseballhalloffameandmuseummoment, it was a struggle to find something Doc Adams related. The only artifact that came to mind was the Fashion Race Course game ball since Doc Adams umpired the third and deciding game of the series (September 10, 1858). There is no mention of Adams anywhere in the Hall, including in relation to this artifact. The Fashion Race Course games were the first All-Star series and were also the first games where admission was charged. … Continue reading →
When Doc no longer practiced medicine and considered himself fully retired, he became an involved, prominent and respected citizen of the town of Ridgefield, CT. In 1870, he was elected to one term in the Connecticut State Legislature. In 1871, he became the first President of the Ridgefield Savings Bank (now the Fairfield County Bank where his photo still hangs in the main office), a position he would hold in two separate terms for ten of the next fifteen years. He was the first treasurer of the Ridgefield Library (founded in 1871) and involved in the Land Improvement Association. He … Continue reading →
I have learned a lot about Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams over the last decade, and have developed a great admiration for the ballist, the pioneer, the executive, his contributions to the game of baseball, his post-playing career, and his demonstrated love of the game. Noted baseball historian and author, Fred Ivor Campbell, once shared with Marjorie Adams, “Well you know Doc saved baseball“. It can easily be argued that Doc’s love of the game was instrumental in baseball’s development and survival. Please indulge me as I recount some of my favorite Doc quotes today. Some of these quotes were recently … Continue reading →