Happy Birthday to arguably the first great hitter in baseball history and arguably the best player in the 19th century, Cap Anson. Adrian Constantine Anson, later regarded as "Cap," was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, eight years before the Civil War began. He would grow into a 6-foot-2-inch and 227-pound guy at the age of 19, which was considered a giant back then.
At 19, he joined the Rockford Forest City club of the National Association and was already bigger and stronger than most players. He immediately became one of the best players, leading the league in Doubles and displaying a strong arm at Third Base. In the 1870s, baseball was growing in America. In 1874, Anson traveled to England with others to advertise the game there.
Cap Anson Career Statistics (1871-1897):
.334 BA, 3,435 HITS, 97 HR, 2,075 RBI, 1,999 RUNS, .394 OBP
Anson played for twenty-six seasons after his Rookie year for Rockford. In 1872-1875 he played for the Philadelphia Athletics, then from 1876-1897, he played for the Chicago White Stockings/Colts, now called the "Chicago Cubs." As a player, he was the first player to reach the 3,000 Hit milestone; he hit over .300 in 24 of his 27 seasons, won four batting titles, and even led the league in RBIs eight times. He also served as the manager from his final year with the Athletics until his last season as a player. He led his teams to six NL pennants and a 1,295-947 record. He innovated managing tactics such as signals between players and the rotation of pitchers. Baseball grew more and more popular during the career of Cap Anson, which is why he's regarded by many as the first big superstar in baseball history. Despite not playing the number of games a year that guys like Ruth and Aaron did to this date, Anson ranks top 10 in all-time statistical categories such as Runs, Hits, and RBIs.
So 139 is the most games Anson ever played in a year, and Hank Aaron played in 155-plus games multiple times. Had Anson been able to play 150-plus games a year, it would not be unrealistic to think that Anson could have eclipsed the records in Runs, Hits, RBIs, Doubles, Triples, etc. Whether it's because he played so long ago or his racist behavior, many fans don't even know who Cap Anson is or was.
Written & Published by Robert Dobek
Follow on Twitter @RobTheYankee
References:
Cap Anson Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ansonca01.shtml
Holmes, Dan. The Complicated Legacy of Cap Anson: Baseball Pioneer and Racist via Helmar Blog: Published May 25, 2021: https://helmarblog.com/2021/05/25/the-complicated-legacy-of-cap-anson-baseball-pioneer-and-racist/
Fleitz, David. Cap Anson via SABR: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cap-anson/
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