The SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference was recently held on April 24-25 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Tom Shieber’s presentation, “Drafting the Game: The Creation of the 1857 Rules of Baseball,” was one of many compelling research projects — and one that held particular interest for us. He examined the three “Laws of Base Ball” documents — their evolution over time and their connection to the landmark first base ball convention — making a persuasive case for how these groundbreaking texts fit within this pivotal moment in the game’s development.

Shieber highlighted several key points regarding what have been referred to as the “big three rules” from the convention:

• Recent research indicates that 9 players per side in match games had become standard practice prior to the convention.
• Debate that continues regarding the 90-foot basepaths vs. 30-pace basepaths. Was this really a significant change?
• 9 inning games vs. contests decided by scoring 21 aces.

Additionally, he identified several other 1857 rules that were important that haven’t been emphasized such as the prohibition of gambling, the size of balls, and the size and shape of bats.

We strive to reference esteemed historians and writers and Baseball Hall of Fame senior curator, Tom Shieber, definitely fits the bill. We hope to be able to provide a link to his presentation when it is available either via SABR or the Hall of Fame, It’s sure to be reflected in the upcoming “Rules of Base Ball” exhibit.

If you’ve followed our posts, you’ve seen we provide links to sources for reference. References for the Laws include “The Making of Baseball’s Magna Carta“, “Analysis of the ‘Laws of Base Ball‘”, “The Laws Of Base Ball Three Document Set Including Original Draft Written By Daniel Lucius Adams, 1856 (3 Pages), Rules For Match Games Of Base Ball” to name a few.

The links are provided to ensure the full picture is presented while controlling the length of posts.

One of the reported reasons Doc Adams fell just two votes short on the 2016 Hall of Fame ballot was a perceived lack of corroborating evidence for claims drawn from his 1896 Sporting News interview.

That is precisely why our focus extends beyond that interview to Doc Adams’ handwritten “Laws of Base Ball” document.

Adams’ own handwritten “Laws of Base Ball” provides direct, primary-source support for his statement that:

“I presented the first draft of rules prepared after much careful study of the matter, and it was in the main adopted.”

“Dr. D. L. Adams, Memoirs of the Father of Base Ball”, The Sporting News (February 29, 1896)

This claim is not standing alone. It is reinforced by period newspaper accounts and early baseball histories, which collectively help substantiate both his role and his influence in shaping the game’s foundational rules.