Tag Archives: #bbhof

Open Letter To The National Baseball Hall Of Fame

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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 →

Open Letter To The BBWAA-Appointed Historical Overview Committee

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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 →

#NationalBaseballHallOfFameAndMuseumMoment Video

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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 →

Doc Adams’ Post-Baseball Accomplishments

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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 →

Some Favorite Doc Quotes

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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 →

Jay Jaffe Of FanGraphs Weighs In On the Classic Baseball Era Ballot

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Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs, who has been a consistent supporter of Doc Adams Hall of Fame candidacy, weighed in on Doc Adams once again being left off the Hall of Fame ballot. I’m far less bothered by their omissions than I am that of an additional SABR Overlooked 19th Century Base Ball Legend, Daniel “Doc” Adams, whom Major League Baseball official historian John Thorn has called “first among the Fathers of Baseball” and “the most significant figure in the early history of baseball.” Adams’ contribution actually predates that 1871 date. Via his 1857 rulebook, “The Laws of Base Ball”, he bears the true … Continue reading →

What’s Wrong With This Picture – The 2025 Classic Baseball Era Ballot

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The National Baseball Hall of Fame‘s BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee released the 2025 Classic Baseball Era ballot Monday, November 4 (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. The 2025 Historical Baseball Overview Committee: There was another conspicuous omission, an early baseball historian on the committee. Thanks to the Hall of Fame’s most recent restructuring of the Era Committees (formerly the Veteran’s Committee) the Classic Baseball Era ballot spans over … Continue reading →

The Mighty Historical Overview Committee Has Struck Out

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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 out. Based on Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s “Casey at the bat” 2015: Doc Adams was named to the 2016 Pre-Integration Era ballot but, the Pre-Integration Era Committee fouled it off by coming up two votes short of election. Strike one! 2021: Even after the re-discovery of Doc Adams’ handwritten “Laws of Base Ball”, the Historical Overview Committee did not see … Continue reading →

BREAKING NEWS: Doc Adams Once Again SNUBBED By The Hall Of Fame

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There was no need to wait for the official announcement from the National Baseball Hall of Fame (which was just released) as they already sent this out in the latest Memories and Dreams magazine the 2025 Classic Baseball Era Ballot and the SABR 2014 Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend, Doc Adams, continues to be overlooked! Voting will take place at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings on December 8, 2024, but Doc Adams, once again, is not be on the ballot. Stay tuned for more reactions to another swing and miss by the Hall of Fame.

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In His Own Words Chapter 9: Legacy (The Sporting News)

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This is the ninth and final chapter in a nine-part series, excerpts from an interview(s) in the “The Chicago Chronicle” and “The Sporting News”, both appearing in the mid-late 1890s. This chapter is titled: “Legacy”. The 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. He never talked about baseball. We have not one thing in the family, … Continue reading →