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 →Doc Adam’s had a long history as an executive with the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club. In May of 1846, his first full year with the Knickerbockers, Doc was elected Vice-President of the club and would, over his seventeen years of membership, go on to serve six terms as President (’47, ’48, ’49, ’56, ’57 and ’61) and several terms as a Director. In 1848, Doc headed the Knickerbocker committee to revise the original rules and regulations from the 1845 formation of the club. And in 1853 with the formation of the Gothams (1850) and the Eagle Base Ball Club (1853), … Continue reading →
Two uniform buttons from Doc Adams’ Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (ca. 1855). These buttons currently reside in a private collection. They are likely the oldest known surviving piece of baseball uniform with provenance. These are also locked up in a bank vault. We have two buttons that belonged to Doc that are embossed with KBBC on them that they’re a little bit larger than a quarter and they’re studs. They are not regular sew-on buttons. And I showed very detailed pictures of them to Jim Gates at the Hall of Fame at the Library. He’s one of the head researchers … 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 Base Ball Club. From all the information the writer has been able to gather, it appears that this was not an organized club, but merely a party of gentlemen who played together frequently, and styled themselves the New York Club. However, the match was played at Hoboken on June 19, 1846, it being the first the Club engaged in, and … Continue reading →
The fifth annual meeting was held at Abell’s, 474 Broadway, on the 7th of April, 1849. The officers elected for the year, were : D. L. Adams, President ; Ed. W. Talman, Vice-President; Eugene Plunkett, Secretary; F. C. Niebuhr, Treasurer. Directors—E. E. Dupignac, A. H. Drummond, B. C. Lee. At a meeting held April 24, 1849, a uniform was adopted for the club, viz. blue woolen pantaloons, white flannel shirt, chip (straw) hats ; and it may here be mentioned that the blue and white has ever since remained the costume of the club. The straw hats were abolished some … Continue reading →
Here are some excerpts of Doc Adam’s executive history with the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club from the point of view of the annual meetings. These extracts are from “Book of American Pastimes, Containing a History of the Principal Base Ball, Cricket, Rowing and Yachting Clubs of the United States“, Charles A. Peverelly, 1866
Continue reading →Two uniform buttons from Doc Adams’ Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (ca. 1855). These buttons currently reside in a private collection. They are likely the oldest known surviving piece of baseball uniform with provenance. These are also locked up in a bank vault. We have two buttons that belonged to Doc that are embossed with KBBC on them that they’re a little bit larger than a quarter and they’re studs. They are not regular sew-on buttons. And I showed very detailed pictures of them to Jim Gates at the Hall of Fame at the Library. He’s one of the head researchers … Continue reading →
The December 6, 1856 issue of Porter’s Spirit of the Times provided a season wrap-up of sorts including a description of the pioneer Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and its ballists. Of course, this includes a shorts capsule of the good doctor. The principal players in the club, and have usually composed their ‘First Nine’, … Adams, as short field has for many years, been deservedly distinguished. Excellent as a catcher and probably the most accurate thrower in any club. A ball sent by him to first base rarely fails in proving fatal to the runner. He strikes with great force, … Continue reading →
Lyle Spatz discusses Doc Adams in his book, “Historical Dictionary of Baseball“. Adams has been creditd with “inventing” the shortstop position… Historical Dictionary of Baseball, Lyle Spatz
Continue reading →