The Baseball Guru OMI: The True Father of Baseball by Herb Rogoff

Also Read: it's trivia time!:FIVE HOMERUNS IN ONE INNING: 20 GAME WINNERS

DEC2011: THE 106th ARTICLE FOR BASEBALL GURU

ONEMOREINNING

THE TRUE FATHER OF BASEBALL

ALEXANDER CARTWRIGHT, ABNER DOUBLEDAY, HENRY CHADWICK, THE NAMES GO ON AND THEY ALL WERE GIVEN THE TITLE OF THE FATHER OF BASEBALL.

HERE'S ANOTHER NAME TO ADD TO THE LIST.

ITS DANIEL "DOC' ADAMS & HE MAY BE THE REALLY TRUE, BLUE FOUNDER OF THE GAME.

HE WAS BORN IN 1814 AND PASSED AWAY IN 1899. IN 1846 HE BECAME THE PRESIDENT OF THE KNICKERBOCKER BASEBALL CLUB AND A FEW YEARS LATER WAS ASKED TO HEAD A COMMITTEE TO REVISE IT'S CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS. ALEXANDER CARTWRIGHT SERVED UNDER HIM FOR AWHILE BUT LEFT TO LOOK FOR GOLD IN CALIFORNIA (HE DIDN'T FIND ANY).

ADAMS IS GIVEN CREDIT FOR INVENTING THE SHORTSTOP POSITION. INITIALLY IT WAS KNOWN AS THE SHORT=FIELDER SPOT ON THE FIELD. IT CAME ABOUT BECAUSE THE BALLS WERE LIGHTWEIGHT THEN AND COULDN'T TRAVEL VERY FAR WHEN THROWN. A SPECIAL NON-PLAYING PERSON WAS NEEDED TO GET THE BALL TO THE INFIELDERS AND PITCHER WHEN THROWN BY THE OUTFIELDERS.

DURING ADAMS PRESIDENCY OF THE KNICKERBOCKERS THEY BECAME THE MOST IMPORTANT CLUB DURING THAT PERIOD. THEIR FAME WAS SUCH THAT ADAMS WAS A NO BRAINER TO HEAD THE COMMITTEE TO FORMULATE THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE GAME. WITH HIS DIRECTION THE COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED NINE EQUAL INNINGS TO CONSTITUTE A FULL GAME, FIVE COMPLETE INNINGS TO ESTABLISH A COMPLETE GAME, A DISTANCE OF 30 YARDS BETWEEN THE BASES, A PITCHER SHOULD BE 45 FEET FROM THE MOUND TO THE PLATE, AND A TEAM SHOULD HAVE NO MORE OR LESS THAN 9 MEN ON THE FIELD.

RESEARCH INDICATES THAT ADAMS WAS THE REAL IMPETUS BEHIND THESE FORMULATIONS FOR THE GAME AND IN A LESSER WAY SO WERE CARTWRIGHT AND CHADWICK.

IN HIS DAY HE WAS CONSIDERED TO HAVE MADE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE GAME. AS TIME WENT BY HE HAD BEEN ECLIPSED BY CARTWRIGHT AND CHADWICK,

IN THE LAST FEW YEARS THE PENDULUM HAS SWUNG BACK IN HIS FAVOR.