Do You Know Doc Adams (Chapter 1: He Was More Than A Player)
Do You Know Doc Adams? He was a more than a player, wrote the ‘Laws of Base Ball’, and his legacy lives on. Chapter 1: He Was More Than A Player.
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Doc Adams Elected Knickerbockers’ Vice-President
The Knickerbockers held elections annually to determine who would serve as officials. At the club’s second election, held on May 5, 1846, Adams was named the Knickerbockers’ vice president. At an April 1847 meeting, he became the president of the team, and was re-elected in 1848 and 1849. He was the leader of a “Committee to Revive the Constitution and By-Laws” of baseball in 1…
Continue reading →Thoughts About The ‘Laws Of Base Ball’
With the ‘Rules of Base Ball’ set to debut at the Hall of Fame, attention turns to the groundbreaking “Laws of Base Ball” and the pivotal inflection point of the 1857 convention — central to Doc Adams’ Hall of Fame case…
Continue reading →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…
Continue reading →Jay Jaffe Weighs In On Era Committee Restructuring
In April of 2022, Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs wrote an article on the latest restructuring of the Era Committees by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Jaffe’s article, “The Hall of Fame Shakes Up its Era Committee System Yet Again” discusses the history of the Committee rules over time, the latest changes, and an analysis of those changes and their implications. In a post since the c…
Continue reading →Knickerbocker BBC Adopts 1st Uniform
The fifth annual meeting of the New York Knickerbockers took place on April 7, 1849, electing new officers and adopting a blue and white uniform consisting of woolen pantaloons and flannel shirts. This color scheme aimed to project respectability, distancing the club from lower-status organizations, and has persisted in various forms.
Continue reading →“Laws Of Base Ball” Sell For $3,263,246
On April 24, 2016, Doc Adams’ “Laws of Base Ball” auction closed at a record $3,263,246, highlighting his pivotal role in baseball’s rule-making. This document reinforces Adams’ significance as a Founding Father of baseball and supports his long-overdue induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Continue reading →The True Godfather Of Our Game
Bardball.com aims to revive the intersection of baseball and poetry, celebrating both the sport and language. It recalls a time when baseball columnists frequently published poems about the game, invoking figures like Doc Adams as a key historical figure. The site suggests a contemporary poetic exploration of baseball’s essence.
Continue reading →Rewriting History
Andrew Forbes released an updated version of his book, The Utility of Boredom: Baseball Essays, featuring a minor correction in the essay “Madison Bumgarner and the Beautiful Lie.” This change addresses an important historical detail regarding the origins of baseball, specifically correcting the attribution of the game’s founding from Alexander Cartwright to Doc Adams, based on recent research by John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s Official Historian. Thorn’s findings, which include the discovery of the “Laws of Base Ball,” provide evidence for this correction. Forbes hoped the National Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball Era Committee would follow suit.
Continue reading →Exploring Doc Adams Baseball Cards
The text discusses the collection of Doc Adams baseball cards, highlighting the rarity of the Ars Longa card and the significance of cards in preserving baseball history. It emphasizes how baseball cards transformed the sport into a national phenomenon, fostering fan engagement and celebrating players. New cards, including a Hall of Fame plaque, are hoped for.
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