The early A.A. success rate was a documented 75% to 93%. That is not folklore, and it is not a modern marketing claim. It comes from Alcoholics Anonymous’s own literature and from the records of the movement’s first groups in Akron and Cleveland between 1935 and 1943. This page lays out what the early A.A. success rate actually was, where each number comes from, and what the early program did that produced results so different from what most people see today.
What Was the Early A.A. Success Rate?
Two figures anchor the record. The first is 75%. In the Foreword to the Second Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (the “Big Book,” 1955), A.A. itself reported that of the alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, half got sober at once and stayed sober, and another quarter recovered after some relapses — three out of four in all.
The second figure is 93%. The Cleveland groups founded by Clarence Snyder in May 1939 kept records, and A.A.’s own official biography of its co-founder, Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (A.A. World Services, 1980), preserves the report that 93% of those who came to the early Cleveland fellowship recovered. Cleveland is where A.A. first grew at scale — from one group to thirty in a single year — so its records matter.
Where the Numbers Come From
Because the early A.A. success rate sounds almost too good, it is worth being precise about sources. The documentation includes:
- The Big Book itself. The Foreword to the Second Edition states the 50% + 25% recovery figures among those who genuinely tried.
- The Frank Amos report (1938). John D. Rockefeller Jr. sent Frank Amos to Akron to investigate the fledgling fellowship. Amos’s written report described the program’s requirements — abstinence, reliance on God, Bible reading, quiet time, and helping other alcoholics — and its striking recovery record.
- Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers. A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature preserving the 93% Cleveland figure and the firsthand testimony of the pioneers.
- Early letters, journals, and meeting records. The primary sources Dick B. spent more than two decades locating, verifying, and publishing.
Dick B. (J.D., CDAAC) assembled this documentation across the 31 volumes of the Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set, so that readers can examine the record for themselves rather than take anyone’s word for it. For A.A.’s own institutional account of the founding era, see the General Service Office’s official History of A.A.
What Early A.A. Did Differently
The early A.A. success rate did not come from meetings alone. The original Akron program — which its members called a Christian fellowship — rested on practices Dick B. summarized from the record:
- Abstinence from alcohol.
- Reliance on the Creator — surrender to God was the turning point of recovery.
- Elimination of sinful conduct — honest self-examination, confession, and restitution.
- Spiritual growth through prayer, Bible study, and daily quiet time.
- Helping other alcoholics recover by the same means.
The fellowship also recommended social and religious comradeship and regular church attendance. New members were typically hospitalized briefly, visited daily by recovered members, led to a decision for God at the conclusion of their stay, and immediately set to work with the Bible — especially the Book of James, Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), and 1 Corinthians 13, the three portions early AAs considered absolutely essential. The influence of the Oxford Group and of Dr. Bob Smith’s lifelong grounding in Scripture shaped these practices from the beginning.
Why the Numbers Changed
As A.A. spread after 1939, the program was deliberately broadened so that no one would be excluded, and the explicitly Biblical practices of Akron receded from the standard meeting format. Dick B. contrasted the documented early results with the far lower recovery and retention figures commonly cited for programs today — and argued that the difference is best explained by what was set aside. His research does not attack today’s A.A.; it documents what the pioneers actually did, so that anyone who wants the results the early program produced can study the Biblical roots of Alcoholics Anonymous and apply the same sources.
Study the Documented Record Yourself
The full primary-source record behind the early A.A. success rate — the Akron program, the Cleveland records, Anne Smith’s journal, the Oxford Group connection, and the Scriptures early AAs lived by — is gathered in the 31-volume Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set, the complete library of Dick B.’s research. Order the complete Reference Set here, or start with an overview of what the Set contains.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the success rate of early A.A.?
Documented figures range from 75% (the Big Book’s own report for those who really tried) to 93% (the recorded recovery rate of the early Cleveland groups, 1939–1943).
Is the early A.A. success rate really documented?
Yes. The sources include the Foreword to the Second Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, the 1938 Frank Amos report to John D. Rockefeller Jr., Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, and the early letters, journals, and meeting records compiled in the Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set.
Why was early A.A. so much more effective?
The record ties the early results to the Akron program’s practices: surrender to God, Bible study, prayer and quiet time, elimination of sinful conduct, and intensive one-on-one work with newcomers — a program its own members described as a Christian fellowship.