Meet the American who is the 'true father of baseball,' New York City physician Daniel 'Doc' Adams

Doc Adams shaped the national pastime more than any other individual, but his name was lost to history. Baseball enthusiasts are now rallying behind his legacy, saying he deserves America’s acclaim and a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Daniel "Doc" Adams nurtured baseball in its formative years of the mid-1800s as if it were his only child. 

He laid down the laws of baseball in its infancy, guiding the sport the rest of its days.

He taught important life skills to the game, from playing shortstop to umpiring — all essential to its growth.

He provided for baseball when it was needy, making the earliest bats and balls so that others could enjoy the game he loved as his own. 

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"Doc Adams is the true father of baseball," John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball, told Fox News Digital. 

Thorn first made that claim in a 1992 article for Elysian Fields Quarterly, a journal of baseball scholarship. He has repeated the statement many times since. 

Daniel "Doc" Adams, a native of New Hampshire and a Harvard-trained physician, played a critical role in the development of baseball in the 1840s and 1850s. His incredible contributions were either lost to history or credited to others. Baseball historians and enthusiasts are working to recognize Adams and get him enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  (Public Domain)

Adams was dubbed the "father of baseball" in the press as early as 1895. Yet when he died in 1899, his legacy as the essential figure in the foundation of the National Pastime died with him. 

The vacuum in public perception of baseball lore was filled by other figures — less consequential