Adrian Constantine "Cap" Anson (
April 17,
1852,
Marshalltown, Iowa -
April 14,
1922,
Chicago, Illinois) was a professional baseball player in the
National Association and
Major League Baseball for the
Rockford Forest Citys,
Philadelphia Athletics, and
Chicago White Stockings.
Anson spent a year at the University of Notre Dame before he started playing professionally in 1871 in the National Association. His best years in the NA were 1872 and 1873, when he finished in the top 5 in batting, OBP (leading the league in 1872), and OPS both years. He fell off a little after that, but was still good enough that he was sought by White Stockings Secretary-turned-President William Hulbert as he strove to improve his club for the 1876 season. Hulbert broke league rules by negotiating with Anson and several other stars while the 1875 season was still in progress, ultimately founding the new National League to forstall any disciplinary action. Anson, who had married a Philadelphia native in the meantime, had second thoughts about going west, but Hulbert held Anson to his contract and he eventually warmed to the Windy City.
The White Stockings won the first league title, but fell off the pace the following two seasons. During this time, Anson was a solid hitter, but not quite a superstar. Both his fortunes and those of his team would change after Anson was named captain-manager of the club in 1879. With Anson pacing the way, the White Stockings won five pennants between 1880 and 1886. They were helped to the titles using new managerial tactics, including the rotation of two star pitchers. After the expression first became popular, in the 1890s, he retroactively claimed to used some of the first "hit and run" plays, and, especially aided by clever base runner Mike Kelly in the first half of the 1880s, had his players run the bases in a way that forced the opposition into making errors. In a modern sense of going South right before a season, he shares credit as an innovator of spring training along with then-Chicago President Albert Spalding. An aggressive captain and manager, he regularly helped players play better, and his contributions helped make baseball a higher-quality sport, while at the same time making it more popular with fans. On the field, Anson was the team's best hitter and run producer. In the 1880s, he won two batting titles (1881, 1888) and finished second four times (1880, 1882, 1886-87). During the same period, he led the league in RBIs an incredible seven times (1880-82, 1884-86, 1888). His best season was in 1881, when he led the league in batting (.399), OBP (.442), OPS (.952), hits (137), total bases (175), and RBIs (82). He also became the first player to hit three consecutive home runs, five homers in two games, and four doubles in a game, as well as being the first to perform two unassisted double plays in a game. He is one of only a few players to score six runs in a game, a feat he accomplished on August 24, 1886.
Unfortunately, Anson was well known to be a racist. While baseball would have become segregated without him, his regular refusal to play in exhibition games versus dark-skinned players helped to usher in segregation. Despite this, Anson remained very popular in Chicago while playing for the White Stockings, which were increasingly known as the Colts starting with an influx of new players in the mid-1880s. Anson signed a ten year contract in 1888 to manage the White Stockings (which because of a typographical error he failed to spot ended after the 1897 season instead of the 1898 one), but his best years were behind him. He led the league in walks in 1890 and garnered his eighth and final RBI crown in 1891, but declined precipitously thereafter. On the managerial front, he failed to win another pennant. He also mellowed enough that his nicknames became "Uncle" and "Grandpa." When he was fired as manager after the 1897 season, it also marked the end of his 27-year playing career. The following season, the Colts were called the Orphans to reflect Anson's departure.
There is much controversy as to whether he became the first player ever to make 3,000 hits in a major league career; for many years, recognized statistics credited him with precisely that total, but researchers in the 1990s argued that he was incorrectly credited with 20 extra hits in 1879, dropping him to 2,995 according to statistics officially recognized by Major League Baseball. However, if one counts his 423 earlier hits in the NA, the major leagues' predecessor (which Major League Baseball does not), he is well over the mark. He was, by any standard, the first player to make 3,000 hits in his professional career.
Anson briefly made a return to baseball managing the New York Giants in June and July of 1898, but fully retired afterward. He was later named president of a new American Association, but he scuttled the venture at the first sign of trouble, leaving him a laughingstock. He was later elected city clerk of Chicago in 1905, and failed in the Democratic primary to become sheriff in 1907. After going bankrupt, he toured in vaudeville and as late as 1920 had delusions of becoming commissioner of baseball. Anson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, one of the first 19th-century players selected. Over 100 years after his retirement, he still holds several Cubs franchise records, including most career hits and runs. In addition, the White Sox owe their name to the team he made famous, the White Stockings of the 19th century and Anson, in part motivated by his dislike for the current management of the Chicago National League club, played an unorthodox role in helping Charles Comiskey place the White Sox in Chicago for the 1900 season.
YEAR TEAM AGE G AB R H 2B 3B HR HR% RBI BB SO SB CS AVG SLG OBA OPS
1876 Cubs 24 66 309 63 110 9 7 2 0.65 59 12 8 0 0 .356 .450 .380 .830
1877 Cubs 25 59 255 52 86 19 1 0 0.00 32 9 3 0 0 .337 .420 .360 .779
1878 Cubs 26 60 261 55 89 12 2 0 0.00 40 13 1 0 0 .341 .402 .372 .775
1879 Cubs 27 51 227 40 72 20 1 0 0.00 34 2 2 0 0 .317 .414 .323 .737
1880 Cubs 28 86 356 54 120 24 1 1 0.28 74 14 12 0 0 .337 .419 .362 .781
1881 Cubs 29 84 343 67 137 21 7 1 0.29 82 26 4 0 0 .399 .510 .442 .952
1882 Cubs 30 82 348 69 126 29 8 1 0.29 83 20 7 0 0 .362 .500 .397 .897
1883 Cubs 31 98 413 70 127 36 5 0 0.00 68 18 9 0 0 .308 .419 .336 .755
1884 Cubs 32 112 475 108 159 30 3 21 4.42 102 29 13 0 0 .335 .543 .373 .916
1885 Cubs 33 112 464 100 144 35 7 7 1.51 108 34 13 0 0 .310 .461 .357 .819
1886 Cubs 34 125 504 117 187 35 11 10 1.98 147 55 19 29 0 .371 .544 .433 .977
1887 Cubs 35 122 472 107 164 33 13 7 1.48 102 60 18 27 0 .347 .517 .422 .939
1888 Cubs 36 134 515 101 177 20 12 12 2.33 84 47 24 28 0 .344 .499 .400 .899
1889 Cubs 37 134 518 100 161 32 7 7 1.35 117 86 19 27 0 .311 .440 .414 .854
1890 Cubs 38 139 504 95 157 14 5 7 1.39 107 113 23 29 0 .312 .401 .443 .844
1891 Cubs 39 136 540 81 157 24 8 8 1.48 120 75 29 17 0 .291 .409 .378 .788
1892 Cubs 40 146 559 62 152 25 9 1 0.18 74 67 30 13 0 .272 .354 .354 .708
1893 Cubs 41 103 398 70 125 24 2 0 0.00 91 68 12 13 0 .314 .384 .415 .800
1894 Cubs 42 83 340 82 132 28 4 5 1.47 99 40 15 17 0 .388 .538 .457 .995
1895 Cubs 43 122 474 87 159 23 6 2 0.42 91 55 23 12 0 .335 .422 .408 .830
1896 Cubs 44 108 402 72 133 18 2 2 0.50 90 49 10 24 0 .331 .400 .407 .808
1897 Cubs 45 114 424 67 121 17 3 3 0.71 75 60 0 11 0 .285 .361 .379 .740
TOTALS 2276 9101 1719 2995 528 124 97 1.07 1879 952 294 247 0 .329 .446 .395 .841
LG AVERAGE 8359 1362 2250 336 133 59 0.71 1044 602 618 307 0 .269 .362 .322 .685
POS AVERAGE 8577 1424 2462 403 166 73 0.85 1263 635 545 251 0 .287 .398 .341 .739
YEAR TEAM RC RCAA RCAP OWP RC/G TB EBH ISO SEC BPA IBB HBP SAC SF GIDP OUTS PA POS
1876 Cubs 78 29 26 .709 10.19 139 18 .094 .133 .470 0 0 0 0 0 199 321 3B
1877 Cubs 58 20 26 .696 8.92 107 20 .082 .118 .439 0 0 0 0 0 169 264 3B
1878 Cubs 59 22 24 .707 8.92 105 14 .061 .111 .431 0 0 0 0 0 172 274 LF
1879 Cubs 45 12 7 .642 7.55 94 21 .097 .106 .419 0 0 0 0 0 155 229 1B
1880 Cubs 81 36 27 .756 8.92 149 26 .081 .121 .441 0 0 0 0 0 236 370 1B
1881 Cubs 113 64 51 .827 14.26 175 29 .111 .187 .545 0 0 0 0 0 206 369 1B
1882 Cubs 101 56 41 .821 11.83 174 38 .138 .195 .527 0 0 0 0 0 222 368 1B
1883 Cubs 87 15 -3 .592 7.91 173 41 .111 .155 .443 0 0 0 0 0 286 431 1B
1884 Cubs 138 62 39 .757 11.35 258 54 .208 .269 .569 0 0 0 0 0 316 504 1B
1885 Cubs 114 40 7 .698 9.26 214 49 .151 .224 .498 0 0 0 0 0 320 498 1B
1886 Cubs 173 89 54 .795 14.19 274 56 .173 .339 .640 0 0 0 0 0 317 559 1B
1887 Cubs 138 47 26 .688 11.65 244 53 .169 .354 .623 0 1 0 0 0 308 533 1B
1888 Cubs 135 66 52 .778 10.38 257 44 .155 .301 .591 0 1 0 0 0 338 563 1B
1889 Cubs 133 44 27 .682 9.69 228 46 .129 .347 .568 0 5 0 0 0 357 609 1B
1890 Cubs 134 45 39 .689 10.04 202 26 .089 .371 .562 0 6 0 0 0 347 623 1B
1891 Cubs 114 18 16 .589 7.74 221 40 .119 .289 .510 0 1 0 0 0 383 616 1B
1892 Cubs 96 17 0 .597 6.13 198 35 .082 .225 .448 0 4 0 0 0 407 630 1B
1893 Cubs 90 9 7 .556 8.57 153 26 .070 .274 .503 0 1 0 0 0 273 467 1B
1894 Cubs 100 26 28 .645 12.09 183 37 .150 .318 .634 0 3 7 0 0 215 390 1B
1895 Cubs 99 10 15 .558 7.85 200 31 .086 .228 .508 0 3 13 0 0 328 545 1B
1896 Cubs 85 8 15 .554 8.07 161 22 .070 .251 .522 0 3 5 0 0 274 459 1B
1897 Cubs 71 -5 -8 .480 5.92 153 23 .075 .243 .467 0 4 9 0 0 312 497 1B
TOTALS 2242 730 516 .679 9.49 4062 749 .117 .249 .525 0 32 34 0 0 6140 10119
LG AVERAGE 1426 0 0 .500 6.04 3029 528 .093 .202 .443 0 52 31 0 0 6140 9044
POS AVERAGE 1660 232 0 .575 7.03 3416 642 .111 .214 .471 0 69 25 0 0 6140 9306
CAP ANSON LEAGUE LEADERSHIP RANKINGS
1876 NL
AT BATS T8TH 309;
RUNS 6TH 63;
HITS 3RD 110;
SINGLES 3RD 92;
TRIPLES T5TH 7;
HOMERUNS T3RD 2;
HR/100 OUTS 4TH 1.01;
HR/100 PA 8TH .62;
HR/100 AB 8TH .65;
RBI T2ND 59;
WALKS T4TH 12;
AVERAGE 3RD .356;
SLG 4TH .450;
OBA 3RD .380;
OPS 3RD .830;
RUNS CREATED 3RD 78;
RCAA 5TH 29;
RCAP 5TH 26;
OWP 5TH .709;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 3RD 10.19;
TOTAL BASES 3RD 139;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 8TH .133;
TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD .759;
BPA 4TH .470;
PLATE APPEARANCES 6TH 321
1877 NL
RUNS 7TH 52;
HITS 7TH 86;
SINGLES T10TH 66;
DOUBLES 1ST 19;
WALKS T6TH 9;
AVERAGE 5TH .337;
SLG 10TH .420;
OBA 5TH .360;
OPS 7TH .779;
RUNS CREATED T6TH 58;
RCAA T6TH 20;
RCAP T4TH 26;
OWP 7TH .696;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 6TH 8.92;
TOTAL BASES 10TH 107;
EXTRA BASE HITS T7TH 20;
TOTAL AVERAGE 7TH .686;
BPA 8TH .439
1878 NL
RUNS 4TH 55;
HITS 7TH 89;
SINGLES 5TH 75;
DOUBLES T8TH 12;
RBI 3RD 40;
WALKS T3RD 13;
AVERAGE 5TH .341;
OBA 2ND .372;
OPS 8TH .775;
RUNS CREATED T5TH 59;
RCAA T5TH 22;
RCAP 3RD 24;
OWP 7TH .707;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 6TH 8.92;
TOTAL BASES T10TH 105;
TOTAL AVERAGE 6TH .686;
BPA 8TH .431;
PLATE APPEARANCES 9TH 274
1879 NL
DOUBLES T8TH 20
1880 NL
GAMES T2ND 86;
AT BATS T6TH 356;
HITS 2ND 120;
SINGLES 1ST 94;
DOUBLES 3RD 24;
RBI 1ST 74;
AVERAGE 2ND .337;
SLG 9TH .419;
OBA 2ND .362;
OPS 4TH .781;
RUNS CREATED T3RD 81;
RCAA 3RD 36;
RCAP 5TH 27;
OWP 2ND .756;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 3RD 8.92;
TOTAL BASES T6TH 149;
EXTRA BASE HITS T10TH 26;
TOTAL AVERAGE 4TH .691;
BPA 8TH .441;
PLATE APPEARANCES 6TH 370
1881 NL
RUNS T6TH 67;
HITS 1ST 137;
SINGLES 1ST 108;
DOUBLES T8TH 21;
TRIPLES T9TH 7;
RBI 1ST 82;
WALKS 7TH 26;
AVERAGE 1ST .399;
SLG 2ND .510;
OBA 1ST .442;
OPS 1ST .952;
RUNS CREATED 1ST 113;
RCAA 1ST 64;
RCAP 1ST 51;
OWP 1ST .827;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 14.26;
TOTAL BASES 1ST 175;
EXTRA BASE HITS T8TH 29;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 8TH .187;
TOTAL AVERAGE 1ST .976;
BPA 2ND .545;
PLATE APPEARANCES T9TH 369
1882 NL
RUNS T9TH 69;
HITS 2ND 126;
SINGLES 5TH 88;
DOUBLES 2ND 29;
RBI 1ST 83;
AVERAGE 2ND .362;
SLG 4TH .500;
OBA 2ND .397;
OPS 2ND .897;
RUNS CREATED 2ND 101;
RCAA 2ND 56;
RCAP 2ND 41;
OWP 2ND .821;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 2ND 11.83;
TOTAL BASES 4TH 174;
EXTRA BASE HITS 6TH 38;
ISOLATED POWER 9TH .138;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 8TH .195;
TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD .874;
BPA 4TH .527
1883 NL
GAMES T9TH 98;
DOUBLES 4TH 36;
RBI T4TH 68
1884 NL
AT BATS 6TH 475;
RUNS 5TH 108;
HITS 5TH 159;
SINGLES 8TH 105;
DOUBLES 3RD 30;
HOMERUNS 4TH 21;
HR/100 OUTS 3RD 6.65;
HR/100 PA 3RD 4.17;
HR/100 AB 3RD 4.42;
RBI 1ST 102;
AVERAGE 4TH .335;
SLG 3RD .543;
OBA 6TH .373;
OPS 3RD .916;
RUNS CREATED 2ND 138;
RCAA T2ND 62;
RCAP 4TH 39;
OWP 4TH .757;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 3RD 11.35;
TOTAL BASES 2ND 258;
EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 54;
ISOLATED POWER 4TH .208;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 5TH .269;
TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD .908;
BPA 3RD .569;
PLATE APPEARANCES T7TH 504
1885 NL
GAMES T3RD 112;
AT BATS 4TH 464;
RUNS 6TH 100;
HITS 3RD 144;
DOUBLES 1ST 35;
HOMERUNS T3RD 7;
HR/100 OUTS 5TH 2.19;
HR/100 PA 6TH 1.41;
HR/100 AB 6TH 1.51;
RBI 1ST 108;
AVERAGE 7TH .310;
SLG 4TH .461;
OBA 5TH .357;
OPS 4TH .819;
RUNS CREATED 4TH 114;
RCAA T4TH 40;
OWP 9TH .698;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 4TH 9.26;
TOTAL BASES 4TH 214;
EXTRA BASE HITS 3RD 49;
ISOLATED POWER 5TH .151;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 10TH .224;
TOTAL AVERAGE 5TH .775;
BPA 5TH .498;
PLATE APPEARANCES 5TH 498
1886 NL
GAMES T3RD 125;
AT BATS 2ND 504;
RUNS 5TH 117;
HITS 2ND 187;
SINGLES 2ND 131;
DOUBLES 2ND 35;
TRIPLES T8TH 11;
HOMERUNS 3RD 10;
HR/100 OUTS 2ND 3.15;
HR/100 PA 4TH 1.79;
HR/100 AB 3RD 1.98;
RBI 1ST 147;
WALKS 9TH 55;
AVERAGE 2ND .371;
SLG 2ND .544;
OBA 4TH .433;
OPS 3RD .977;
RUNS CREATED 3RD 173;
RCAA 4TH 89;
RCAP T5TH 54;
OWP 4TH .795;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 3RD 14.19;
TOTAL BASES 2ND 274;
EXTRA BASE HITS T2ND 56;
ISOLATED POWER 3RD .173;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 4TH .339;
TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD 1.129;
BPA 3RD .640;
PLATE APPEARANCES 2ND 559
1887 NL
HITS 7TH 164;
SINGLES T7TH 111;
DOUBLES 4TH 33;
RBI 3RD 102;
WALKS T6TH 60;
AVERAGE 2ND .347;
SLG 5TH .517;
OBA 2ND .422;
OPS 3RD .939;
RUNS CREATED 5TH 138;
RCAA 6TH 47;
OWP 7TH .688;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 3RD 11.65;
TOTAL BASES T6TH 244;
EXTRA BASE HITS T6TH 53;
ISOLATED POWER 10TH .169;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 10TH .354;
TOTAL AVERAGE 6TH 1.078;
BPA 7TH .623
1888 NL
GAMES T8TH 134;
RUNS 4TH 101;
HITS 2ND 177;
SINGLES 1ST 133;
TRIPLES T7TH 12;
HOMERUNS T3RD 12;
HR/100 OUTS 3RD 3.55;
HR/100 PA 4TH 2.13;
HR/100 AB 3RD 2.33;
RBI 1ST 84;
WALKS 9TH 47;
AVERAGE 1ST .344;
SLG 2ND .499;
OBA 1ST .400;
OPS 1ST .899;
RUNS CREATED T2ND 135;
RCAA T3RD 66;
RCAP 4TH 52;
OWP 5TH .778;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 10.38;
TOTAL BASES 3RD 257;
EXTRA BASE HITS 6TH 44;
ISOLATED POWER 7TH .155;
TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD .985;
BPA 5TH .591;
PLATE APPEARANCES 8TH 563
1889 NL
GAMES T7TH 134;
HITS T10TH 161;
DOUBLES T6TH 32;
RBI 3RD 117;
WALKS 4TH 86;
AVERAGE 10TH .311;
OBA 6TH .414;
OPS 9TH .854;
RUNS CREATED T6TH 133;
RCAA 6TH 44;
OWP 6TH .682;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 7TH 9.69;
EXTRA BASE HITS T9TH 46;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 9TH .347;
TOTAL AVERAGE 8TH .969;
PLATE APPEARANCES 6TH 609
1890 NL
GAMES T1ST 139;
HITS T10TH 157;
SINGLES 4TH 131;
HOMERUNS T5TH 7;
HR/100 OUTS 7TH 2.02;
HR/100 PA T7TH 1.12;
HR/100 AB 7TH 1.39;
RBI 2ND 107;
WALKS 1ST 113;
AVERAGE 6TH .312;
OBA 1ST .443;
OPS 3RD .844;
RUNS CREATED 3RD 134;
RCAA 5TH 45;
RCAP 8TH 39;
OWP 5TH .689;
RUNS CREATED/GAME 2ND 10.04;
SECONDARY AVERAGE 7TH .371;
TOTAL AVERAGE 4TH 1.009;
BPA 8TH .562;
PLATE APPEARANCES T6TH 623
1891 NL
GAMES T10TH 136;
HITS 9TH 157;
DOUBLES T10TH 24;
HOMERUNS 8TH 8;
HR/100 OUTS 8TH 2.09;
HR/100 PA 8TH 1.30;
HR/100 AB 8TH 1.48;
RBI 1ST 120;
WALKS T7TH 75;
AVERAGE 9TH .291;
OBA 8TH .378;
OPS 9TH .788;
RUNS CREATED 9TH 114;
TOTAL BASES T9TH 221;
EXTRA BASE HITS T10TH 40
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