Tag Archives: National Baseball Hall of Fame

Hoping The Homework Gets Done

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Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs made a great point prior to the last time Doc Adams was eligible for a Hall of Fame ballot, in 2020. Unfortunately, the homework wasn’t done, and Adams astonishingly did not appear on the ballot. We hope that his words are heeded this year, and the latest oversight is corrected. Subsequent to the vote, his “Laws of Base Ball” resurfaced and sold for over $3/25 million. This compelling artifact surely establishes that Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams is unequivocally a key Founding Father of baseball. Coming up merely 2 votes short of election in the 2015 Pre-Integration Era … Continue reading →

Remembering Marjorie Adams And Her Great-Grandfather’s Appearance On A HOF Ballot

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Today would have been Marjorie Adams’ 75th birthday. Marjorie’s tireless efforts to spread the story of her great-grandfather, Doc Adams, enlightened and inspired many baseball fans. Marjorie conducted a campaign to educate people on Doc’s role as a pioneer of our National Pastime and his importance to baseball’s survival and growth during its nascent period. Her goal was to see him recognized with long overdue enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. She made many ‘baseball’ friends, particularly in the vintage base ball community. She is greatly missed. When talking about Doc, Marjorie often said that “she has all … Continue reading →

Doc Adams Appeared On A Hall Of Fame Ballot For The 1st Time In 2015

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On October 5, 2015, Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, 153 years after he retired from the Knickerbockers. The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced Doc Adams as one of the 10 candidates on the 2016 Pre-integration Era ballot. This marked a major milestone on the road to recognizing Doc Adams with induction as a member of the Hall of Fame. Doc Adams has been dead since 1899; he is too well versed in the art of patience. John Thorn, Official Historian of Major League Baseball For a more detailed announcement … Continue reading →

Thoughts Regarding The Hall Of Fame Class of 2022

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July 25, 2022, the Class of 2022 was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Congratulations to all those that will be inducted today: Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, and Buck O’Neil, Tony Oliva, and David Ortiz, as well as Tim Kurkjian (BBWAA’s Career Excellence Award} and Jack Graney (Ford C. Frick Award). For many, it’s been a long wait. On the occasion that we had hoped we would see Doc Adams’ contributions and accomplishments finally honored in Cooperstown, I’d like to pause and reflect on how we got here and what it … Continue reading →

Jay Jaffe Weighs In On Era Committee Restructuring

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Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs wrote an article on the recent 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” discussses the history of the Committee rules over time, the most recent changes, and an analysis of those changes and their implications. In a post since the changes were announced, we expressed concern that Doc Adams’ road to the Hall of Fame became more challenging. It seemed pretty obvious, and not just to us. Josh Rawich confirmed our thoughts on making the ballot as … Continue reading →

Doc Adams Eligible For Class of 2025!

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On April 22, 2022, The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced that they are once again restructures their Era committees. Per the Hall’s announcement: Highlighting these changes is a consolidation of eras into two timeframes – the Contemporary Baseball Era, consisting of the period from 1980 to present day, and the Classic Baseball Era, consisting of the period prior to 1980 and including Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues stars. The Contemporary Baseball Era will split into two separate ballots – one ballot to consider only players who made their greatest impact on the game since 1980, and another composite ballot … Continue reading →

Bad Timing And Missed Opportunities

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Although A.G. Spalding had ulterior motives, as we all now know, he did recognize the Knickerbockers, including Doc Adams. “Are not some of these gentlemen still living? Or perhaps some of their heirs might throw some light on the early history especially the origin of baseball.” . Salt Lake Tribune (April 2, 1905) Sadly, Daniel Lucius Adams, M.D. had died a little over 5 years earlier. Some people, however, did hear the call, and we know how that turned out. For Doc, this was the first of several miss-timed opportunities. Will 2025 be the year? #DocAdamsHOF2025

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Remembering Marjorie Adams And Her Great-Grandfather’s Appearance On A HOF Ballot

Doc Adams Base Ball (Official) Posted on by

Today would have been Marjorie Adams’ 74th birthday. Marjorie’s tireless efforts to spread the story of her great-grandfather, Doc Adams, enlightened and inspired many baseball fans. Marjorie conducted a campaign to educate people on Doc’s role as a pioneer of our National Pastime and his importance to baseball’s survival and growth during its nascent period. Her goal was to see him recognized with long overdue enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. She made many ‘baseball’ friends, particularly in the vintage base ball community. She is greatly missed. When talking about Doc, Marjorie often said that “she has all … Continue reading →

Doc Adams Appeared On A Hall Of Fame Ballot For The 1st Time In 2015

Doc Adams Base Ball (Official) Posted on by

On October 5, 2015, Daniel Lucius ‘Doc’ Adams appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, 153 years after he retired from the Knickerbockers. The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced Doc Adams as one of the 10 candidates on the 2016 Pre-integration Era ballot. This marked a major milestone on the road to recognizing Doc Adams with induction as a member of the Hall of Fame. Doc Adams has been dead since 1899; he is too well versed in the art of patience. John Thorn, Official Historian of Major League Baseball For a more detailed announcement … Continue reading →

Doc Adams Represented At The Hall Of Fame Induction

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Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Buck O’Neil, Tony Oliva, and David Ortiz were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on this past Sunday. It had been a long time coming for many of them, We had hoped that this year would have been the end of a long wait for Doc Adams, and his contributions and accomplishments would finally be honored in Cooperstown with a plaque. However, Adams’ journey continues as do expressions of support and efforts to see that his is no longer overlooked. Collin Miller of the Knickerbocker Experience and Fleischmanns’ Mountain Athletic … Continue reading →