Tag Archives: Doc Adams

Memories Of The Father Of Base Ball (part 3)

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Buffalo, New York August 1939 Written by: Roger Cook Adams “During the present year when the centennial of the first out-break of base ball is being celebrated at Cooperstown, it may be of interest to record the important part played in the development of the game by an early member of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York.” … “In the interest of uniformity it seemed wise to call a convention of representatives of all the club to establish a permanent code of rules by which all should be governed, and a call for such a convention was issued … Continue reading →

In Remembrance Of Marjorie Adams And Doc

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On August 21, 2021, the Wethersfield Red Onion played the Woodstock Hilltoppers at Cove Park in Wethersfield CT in remembrance of their dear friend, Marjorie Adams, and Doc Adams. The spirited game was played by 1864 Base Ball rules. It was a beautiful day and a great time was had by all. The Hilltoppers outlasted the Red Onion, 10-9.

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From Cartwright To Shoeless Joe

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In his book “From Cartwright To Shoeless Joe”, Ron McCulloch discuses Doc Adams role as a baseball pioneer and executive by highlighting his leadership roles with the Knickerbockers and the National Association of Base Ball Players. In early 1858 Knickerbocker president “Doc” Adams and the presidents of the Gotham, Eagle and Empire clubs put out a call for another meeting of baseball clubs. On March 10 of that year representatives of 26 clubs gathered and “The National Association of Base Ball Players” was formed to oversee the game and administrate the rules and regulations. From Cartwright To Shoeless Joe, Ron … Continue reading →

Knickerbocker And Excelsior Clubs

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August 20, 1858. Doc Adams played 3rd base and tallied 1 run. Harry Wright, in his first playing season with the Knickerbockers, played at short. Eleven years later he managed and played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the “first professional” ball club. But he got his start in base ball with the Knickerbockers!!

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Henry Chadwick On The Father Of Baseball

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On August 16, 1898, Hall of Fame pioneer, Henry Chadwick wrote to his friend, Doc Adams, responding to Doc’s letter congratulating him on the title of “Father of Base Ball”. Mr. Chadwick wrote: “That title of ‘Father of Base Ball’ is out of place. Base [Ball] like Topsy ‘never had no fader’; it growed up.” Henry Chadwick in letter to Doc Adams (August 16, 1898) Mr. Chadwick wasn’t just being modest; he knew that baseball evolved from other bat and ball games and that there was no single “Father of Base Ball”. However, there are several individuals who played instrumental roles in … Continue reading →

Memories Of The Father Of Base Ball (part 2)

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Buffalo, New York August 1939 Written by: Roger Cook Adams “During the present year when the centennial of the first out-break of base ball is being celebrated at Cooperstown, it may be of interest to record the important part played in the development of the game by an early member of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York.” … “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 … Continue reading →

Do You Know Doc Adams (Chapter 3: His Legacy Lives On)

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With The Pitch For Doc Adams event ironically planned for Doubleday Field, Cooperstown, New York tomorrow, our thoughts are on the baseball pioneer we honor and hope that he will be a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025. This is the 3rd and final chapter of Do You Know Doc Adams (Chapter 1: He Was More Than A Player, Chapter 2: The Laws of Base Ball). Special thanks to Jake Schmidt for all his efforts on the “Doc You Know Doc Adams?” videos.

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Happy 11th Birthday DocAdamsBaseBall.org!

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The Doc Adams Base Ball website is celebrating its 11th birthday! It’s been a fun, exciting, and rewarding ride – one that will continue until Doc and his contributions are well known by baseball fans. Hopefully, this will result in his having a plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s gallery. A lot has happened just since this website was established 11 years ago. An engaging and memorable interview of Doc Adams (Marjorie Adams) at SABR’s 6th Annual Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference in Cooperstown…. Selection of Doc Adams as SABR’s 2014 Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend…the … Continue reading →

Doc Adams And The Rules

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Three amendments to the rules were proposed and received by Dr. Jones (Excelsior), the chairman of the Rules Committee; however, because the committee did not present these to the convention committee prior to the 1862 meeting, no changes to the playing rules could officially be made. Two events had resulted in the Rules Committee being unable to forward its recommended changes before the convention. In March of 1862, Dr. Adams (Knickerbocker) resigned from the Knickerbocker Club as well as the Rules Committee, married, and moved to Connecticut. Judge William Van Cott (Gotham) traveled to Centerville, Virginia, in the middle of November to … Continue reading →

Peter Mancuso Comments On Doc Adams

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Peter Mancuso, the Co-Chair of the Nineteenth Century Committee of the Society of American Baseball Research, recently commented on one of our posts. We wanted to take a moment to highlight his comments to all our followers. Each year, since 2009, SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee has been behind the Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legends Project, under the excellent supervision of Project Co-Chairs, Adam Darowski and Joe Williams and their sub-committee members. First only Nineteenth Century Committee members, and now, all SABR members are eligible to vote for a 19th Century baseball person, not yet selected for induction in the National … Continue reading →