DANIEL L. “DOC” ADAMS – 4th from left. Knickerbocker and Excelsior Base Ball Clubs, August 2, 1859, South Brooklyn, N.Y. [Source for date: SABR Pictorial History Committee Newsletter, June 1999] 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 o…
Continue reading →On October 18, 1853, the Gotham and the Knickerbockers played what was referred to “the finest and at one time the closest match, that has ever been played between the two clubs”. The game was played at the Red House Grounds (106 Street and Second Avenue, NY). Knickerbockers prevailed by a score of 21-14 with Doc Adams scoring 3 runs. Note that at the time, matches (games) were decided by scoring 21 ‘aces ‘, or runs. It wasn’t until 1857 (re: “The Laws of Base Ball“) that the length of the game was changed to nine equal innings, rather than declaring the first … Continue reading →
In 1875, at the invitation of his former Knickerbocker teammate, James Whyte Davis, Doc Adams was requested to play in a Knickerbocker Reunion game: “I really hope you will favor me with your company and with old associations and memories dear to all lovers of the game in the good old fashioned Knickerbocker style.” On September 27, 1875, the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club held the reunion game between the 1855 and 1865 teams. The youngsters whitewashed the veterans by a score of 21-0. The following summaries were published in The New York Sun on September 28, 1875, and Forest & … Continue reading →
The oldest existing game ball from a scheduled baseball match is on display in Cooperstown. It is from the game between the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and the Gothams played on September 20, 1854. Doc Adams played in that game, batting 4th, had 6 Hands Lost and 1 Run scored. The Knickerbockers defeated the Gothams 24-13.
Continue reading →In 1875, at the invitation of his former Knickerbocker teammate, James Whyte Davis, Doc Adams was requested to play in a Knickerbocker Reunion game. No 17 University PlaceNew York, Sept. 13, 1875 My old Knickerbocker friend, My twenty fifth anniversary of membership in the old Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York will occur on Monday the 27th I greatly desire to meet all my old Base Ball associates upon this occasion and I cordially invite you to be present and participate in the game at 3 PM after which a collation will be served at Drake’s Hotel Hoboken (first … Continue reading →
In the ‘great’ match between the Knickerbocker and Gotham Clubs, won by Gotham 21-7m Doc Adams led off and tallied 2 runs. Per the New York Daily Times, “There was some fine batting by Dr. Adams…” The New York Clipper didn’t see fit to provide many additional details as “Where all exerted themselves so zealously, it seems out of place to go into details.” “Gotham Club of New York v Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York on 5 September 1856” on Protoball.
Continue reading →On August 10, 1859, the Knickerbockers played the Empires at Elysian Fields.It was the first game of the 1859 season between these two teams, however, it was not a regular match as they played “the fly game”. In the fly game, the ball must be caught “on the fly” to be an out rather on one bounce. The Knickerbockers won the contest 59-33. Doc Adams played “centre field”. He had 5 “Hands Lost” (a player was charged with a Hand Lost every time he made an out at bat or on the basepaths) but scored 5 runs. On an interesting … Continue reading →
What is often referred to as the first recorded game played under the Knickerbocker Rules (now believed to be yet another intrasquad game), took place on June 19, 1846. The Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club (aka “the New York Nine”) 23–1 in four innings. Elysian Fields First Game The enduring fame of this particular game and of its players is the product of circumstance and self-aware myth-making. As the official historian of Major League Baseball, John Thorn, has written: “The history of baseball is a lie from beginning to end, from its creation myth to its rosy … 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 from all others played during the past few years: “We have heard it rumored — we do not know with what truth — that the Knickerbocker Club, of this city, will shortly play a match with the Excelsior Club, of Brooklyn, in which they will repudiate catching the ball upon the bound.” The Sunday Mercury William Cauldwell, the editor of … Continue reading →
On October 18, 1853, the Gotham and the Knickerbockers played what was referred to “the finest and at one time the closest match, that has ever been played between the two clubs”. The game was played at the Red House Grounds (106 Street and Second Avenue, NY). Knickerbockers prevailed by a score of 21-14 with Doc Adams scoring 3 runs. Note that at the time, matches (games) were decided by scoring 21 ‘aces ‘, or runs. It wasn’t until 1857 (re: “The Laws of Base Ball“) that the length of the game was changed to nine equal innings, rather than declaring the first … Continue reading →
