When I give baseball history presentations, I usually begin by saying that “As we all know, Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York.” The statement is usually greeted with laughs and smiles reflecting the increasing awareness that Doubleday had … Continue reading →
Two box scores from 1855 Knickerbocker Base Ball games vs. the Gothams and the Eagles with Doc Adams leading off in both games.
Continue reading →Due to the unfortunate postponement of the Induction of the Class of 2020, there was an opportunity for a very unique situation with the 2021 Hall of Fame Induction. Derek Jeter who was elected as a member of the Class … Continue reading →
On June 5, 1846, the first honorary members were elected, viz. James Lee and Abraham Tucker. At the same meeting Curry, Adams and Tucker were appointed a committee to arrange the preliminaries, and conclude a match with the New York … Continue reading →
‘Baseball’s Book of Firsts‘ by Lloyd Johnson is a “A comprehensive guide to the record-setting achievements of baseball’s greatest players”. Now what would a baseball book of firsts be if it didn’t recognize the first ever shortstop, Doc Adams, the … Continue reading →
In our continuing quest to find more Doc Adams references, we came across an article in the Spring 1999 Harvard Medical Alumni magazine. The excellent article, “Baseball Rules”, by James S. Distlehorst is extremely accurate. The article summarizes Doc’s base … Continue reading →
In the May 29, 1859 issue of The Sunday Mercury, a weekly New York newspaper that extensively covered the expanding world of base ball playing, an untitled paragraph announced the possibility of a forthcoming game that would be strikingly different … Continue reading →
Prior to the Pre-Integration Era ballot in 2015, Jay Jaffe of Fangraphs expressed his opinion on Doc Adams’ candidacy in his article “Breaking down the Hall of Fame’s Pre-Integration Era ballot, Part 1” in Sports Illustrated. Below is an extract … Continue reading →
Doc’s father, Daniel Adams MD (1773-1864) was born in Townsend, Massachusetts and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1797 and from the second class of Dartmouth Medical School in 1799. As well as being a practicing physician, he … Continue reading →
“He’s the true father of baseball and you’ve never heard of him.” John Thorn, Official Historian of MLB “Well you know Doc saved baseball.” Fred Ivor Campbell, noted baseball historian and author “Ninety feet between home plate and first base … Continue reading →
