The following auto-biography is from the “Biographical and Historical Record of the Class of 1835 in Yale College, for the Fifty Years from the Admission of the Class to College” published in 1881 by Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, Printers, 371 State Street, New Haven, CT.
Continue reading →Let’s take the opportunity today to review a timeline of the life of Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams.
Continue reading →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 →
Let’s take the opportunity today to review a timeline of the life of Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams.
Continue reading →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 →
Help us SHARE Doc Adams’ story with friends, on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, BlueSky… Special thanks to Jake Schmidt for all his efforts on the “Do You Know Doc Adams?” videos. Did you know that the game of baseball as we know it today was significantly shaped by a man named Doc Adams in the mid-1800s? He wasn’t just a player; but was a pioneer who helped craft the foundation of the modern game. John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball, referred to Doc Adams as “Baseball’s most important figure not in the Hall of Fame… More than … Continue reading →
In late 1865, Doc and Cornelia moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut and in 1866 the first of their four surviving children, Catharine, was born. In a family tape recording made in late 1961 by their youngest and last surviving child, Roger Cook Adams (1874-1962), explains that Ridgefield was chosen because of the “altitude” and for “my mother’s health”. In a December 1865 letter, Cornelia wrote to a cousin: We have hung some of the pictures – have the Resolutions [*] as large as life in the dining room – the glass was cracked in coming up –the only one that was … 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 →
In her book “A History of American Sports in 100 Objects”, Cait Murphy proposes that these 100 objects tell much more than just stories about great games – they tell the story of the nation. She shows how the games Americans play are woven into the fabric of America itself. One of the objects that she includes is “Soil From The Elysian Fields”. She states that “In Greek mythology, the souls of the historic dead enjoyed paradise in the Elysian Fields.” She found it fitting that was the home of the Knickerbockers and that the “first organized baseball game” took … Continue reading →
Help us SHARE Doc Adams’ story with friends, on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, … Special thanks to Jake Schmidt for all his efforts on the “Do You Know Doc Adams?” videos. Did you know that the game of baseball as we know it today was significantly shaped by a man named Doc Adams in the mid-1800s? He wasn’t just a player; but was a pioneer who helped craft the foundation of the modern game. John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball, referred to Doc Adams as “Baseball’s most important figure not in the Hall of Fame… More than … Continue reading →