# Doc Adams

By [Ula Charlotte](https://paragraph.com/@themoses) · 2022-07-03

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**Daniel Lucius** "**Doc**" **Adams** (November 1, 1814 – January 3, 1899) was an American [baseball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball) player and executive who is regarded by historians as an important figure in the sport's early years. For most of his career he was a member of the [New York Knickerbockers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Knickerbockers). He first played for the New York Base Ball Club in 1840 and started his Knickerbockers career five years later, continuing to play for the club into his forties and to take part in inter-squad practice games and matches against opposing teams. Researchers have called Adams the creator of the [shortstop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortstop) position, which he used to field short throws from [outfielders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outfielder). In addition to his playing career, Adams manufactured baseballs and oversaw [bat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat) production; he also occasionally acted as an [umpire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umpire_\(baseball\)).

From 1847 to 1861, the Knickerbockers selected Adams as their president six times, and as a vice president, treasurer, or director in six other years. As president of the club, Adams was an advocate of rule changes in baseball that resulted in nine-man teams and nine-[inning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inning) games. When the [National Association of Base Ball Players](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Base_Ball_Players) (NABBP) was formed in 1858, he led the rules and regulations committee of the new organization. In his role, Adams ruled that the fields' [bases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_field#Specifications) should be 90 feet (27 m) apart, the modern distance, and supported the elimination of the "bound rule", which allowed for balls caught after one bounce to be recorded as [outs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_\(baseball\)). He resigned from his positions with the Knickerbockers and NABBP in 1862. Adams' contributions in creating baseball's rules went largely unrecognized for decades after his 1899 death, but in 1980 a letter about him appeared in [_The New York Times_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times); by 1993, researcher [John Thorn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thorn) had written about Adams' role. Other historians have given him credit for helping to develop the sport, and Thorn has called Adams "first among the Fathers of Baseball".[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Adams#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThorn19937-1)

A graduate of [Yale University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University) and [Harvard Medical School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Medical_School), Adams began working in the medical field in the late 1830s, and practiced in New York City during his time as a member of the Knickerbockers. In 1865, he left medicine and later became a bank president and member of the [Connecticut legislature](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_House_of_Representatives). He and his wife had five children.

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*Originally published on [Ula Charlotte](https://paragraph.com/@themoses/doc-adams)*