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1857-1857
Baseball’s “Magna Carta” The handwritten “Laws of Baseball” are the founding documents for the modern game. In December 1856, Daniel...
/ Baseball’s “Magna Carta” The handwritten “Laws of Baseball” are the founding documents for the modern game. In December 1856, Daniel “Doc” Adams, a medical doctor and president of the New York Knickerbockers baseball club, drafted a set of game rules. His teammate, William Grenelle, prepared another document describing a different set of rules that also addressed playing fields. The rules put forth by Adams, with some material from Grenelle’s document, were then compiled as the “Laws of Base Ball.” This last document, in Grenelle’s hand, was used at the Base Ball Convention held in New York City in January 1857, in which delegates representing local teams convened to establish a uniform set of rules. By agreeing to them, the players hoped to schedule more games and promote the sport. Adams served as president of the convention, which approved essential rules still in use today.