Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain"), "Pop", and "Baby" (early in his career) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 consecutive seasons. Anson was regarded as one of the greatest players of his era and one of the first superstars of the game. He spent most of his career with the Chicago White Stockings/Colts franchise (now known as the Cubs), serving as the club's manager, first baseman and, later in his tenure, minority owner. He led the team to six National League pennants from 1876 to 1886. Anson was one of baseball's first great hitters, and probably the first to tally over 3,000 career hits. In addition to being a star player, he innovated managerial tactics such as signals between players and the rotation of pitchers.
Anson played a role in establishing the racial segregation in professional baseball that persisted until the late 1940s. On several occasions, Anson refused to take the field when the opposing roster included black players. His demands may have been cited as representative of player attitudes by team owners of the International League (top tier of the minor leagues) when they voted on July 14, 1887 to ban the signing of new contracts with black players.
After retiring as a player and leaving the Colts, Anson briefly managed the New York Giants. He ran several enterprises in Chicago, including opening a billiards and bowling hall and running a semi-professional baseball team he dubbed "Anson's Colts". Anson also toured extensively on the vaudeville circuit, performing monologues and songs. Many of his business ventures failed. As a result, Anson lost his ownership stake in the Colts (by then known as the Cubs) and filed for bankruptcy. In 1939, Anson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Early life
Anson was born in Marshalltown, Iowa. His time away did little to discipline him. Soon after he returned home, his father sent him to the University of Iowa, where his bad behavior resulted in the school asking him to leave after one semester. He was a large and powerful man, standing tall and weighing about .
After being traded to Philadelphia Athletics, in 1872 and 1873, Anson finished in the NA's top five in batting, on-base percentage (OBP), and on-base plus slugging (OPS). He led the National Association in OBP in 1872. His numbers declined slightly in 1874 and 1875, but he was still good enough that Chicago White Stockings secretary-turned-president William Hulbert sought him 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 and ultimately founded the new National League to forestall any disciplinary action.
Anson, who had become engaged to 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.
Chicago White Stockings/Colts
right|thumb|Anson with Philadelphia in 1874
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.
His new role led to the nickname "Cap", along with variants such as (Anson's) White Colts and (Anson's) Broncos. When Blue Stockings Manager Charlie Morton told Anson the White Stockings would forfeit the gate receipts if they refused to play, Anson backed down, but not before uttering the word nigger on the field and vowing that his team would not play in such a game again.
In 1884, Chicago again played an exhibition game at Toledo, which was then in the American Association, a major league. Walker sat it out, however, it is uncertain whether he did so to placate Chicago or due to injury; Jimmy McGuire instead did the catching. Both had sore hands, the Toledo Blade had said a few days earlier. Of the two catchers, Walker was seemingly the more injured, as he did not play in Toledo's second-most recent game. Among Anson's incidents, this one is unique in that private correspondence provides insight. Three months before the game, Chicago Treasurer-Secretary John A. Brown wrote Toledo manager Charlie Morton that "the management of the Chicago Ball Club have no personal feeling about the matter," while "the players do most decisively object and to preserve harmony in the club it is necessary that I have your assurance in writing that [Walker] will not play any position in your nine July 25. I have no doubt such is your meaning[;] only your letter does not express in full [sic]. I have no desire to replay the occurrence of last season and must have your guarantee to that effort."
Walker and his brother Welday were released from their team later that year, Welday last playing on August 6 and Fleet on September 4. On July 14, 1887 the Chicago White Stockings played an exhibition game against the Newark Little Giants. African American George Stovey was listed in the Newark News as the scheduled Newark starting pitcher. Anson objected, and Stovey did not pitch. Moreover, International League owners had voted 6-to-4 at a 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. meeting in Buffalo on the morning of the game to exclude African-American players from future contracts.
Personal character
right|thumb|Studio photo of Anson
Anson was authoritarian as a manager, marching his players onto the field in military formation and banning alcohol consumption during the playing season.
On corruption in sports, he said the following in 1891: "The time may have been, and probably was, when base-ball was as rotten as horse racing, but that time has gone by. The men in control of base-ball matters are of the highest personal character, and no one will say anything against them. As to the charges against any individual player, I will believe them when they have been proved. Every thing [sic] possible has been done to protect the patrons of the National game, and efforts in that direction will never be abated. I don’t know of any crookedness in the ball field. If I did I’d undoubtedly say something about it."
A chronological review of 162 reports of bets on regular season baseball by players, managers or club officials, from 1876 to 1900, tallied the sport's top bettors in that era as follows:
- 1. Anson (57), Chicago's captain-manager; Hall of Famer
- 2. (tie) Jim Mutrie (9), mainly as manager of the New York Giants, and his bets were mostly with Anson
- 2. Edward Talcott (9), millionaire stockbroker as treasurer of the New York Giants
- 4. (tie) King Kelly (7), mainly as Boston's captain; Hall of Famer
- 4. Frank Robison (7), Cleveland Spiders owner
Albert Spalding and James Hart
Anson first met Albert Spalding while both were players; Spalding was a pitcher for the Rockford Forest Citys, Anson played for the Marshalltown, Iowa, team. Neither the Macmillan Encyclopedia editions nor MLB itself at that time recognized the National Association as being a major league. This places Anson 25th on the all-time list.
Other sources credit Anson with a different number of hits, largely because scoring and record keeping was haphazard in baseball until well into the 20th century.
Beginning with the publication of the Baseball Encyclopedia, statisticians have continually found errors and have adjusted career totals accordingly. According to the Sporting News baseball record book, which does not take National Association statistics into account, Anson had 3,012 hits over his career. Baseball Reference also credits Anson with 3,012 hits during his National League career; including his time in the NA, Anson is credited with 3,435 hits. This figure disregards games played in the NA, but includes the walks earned during 1887 as hits.
Retirement
Anson briefly made a return to baseball managing the New York Giants in June and July 1898.
After a number of failed business attempts, including a handball arena and bottled ginger beer that exploded on store shelves, Despite the traction issue being the predominant issue of the day in the city's politics, Anson instead centered his campaign on the nativist and racist assertion that "race suicide" was occurring with demographic shifts in the United States due to an increased number of Catholic immigrants from places such as Ireland and Italy. As a candidate, Anson benefited from strong name recognition owing to his sports celebrity. During his tenure, one of Anson's billiards hall generated controversy for Anson's failure to pay license fees on pool tables. Anson would appear before the Chicago City Council to unsuccessfully lobby them to reduce such fees. After serving one term as city clerk, he failed in the Democratic primary to become Cook County sheriff in 1907.
thumb|250px|Anson in 1907
In 1907, Anson made another attempt to come back to baseball, acquiring a semi-pro team in the Chicago City League, which he would call "Anson's Colts". He also played himself in an 1895 Broadway play called The Runaway Colt, written to take advantage of his fame.
Anson retired from vaudeville in 1921, and continued to refuse a pension from Major League Baseball, despite having no other income. He was interred at the Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago.
Legacy
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 runs batted in, runs, hits, singles, and doubles while being the only Cub in the 3,000 hit club.
Defensively, he also holds the franchise record for putouts, but also is second in franchise history for errors.
On the managerial side, he was the second manager to ever reach 1,000 wins (doing so after Harry Wright), a feat that has seen over sixty managers reach the mark since the 20th century. Anson won 1,282 games with the Cubs, a mark that still stands after a century. Just 24 other managers have won 1,000 games with one team in Major League Baseball.
Anson still holds the Major League record for most seasons played (27), although Nolan Ryan equalled it in 1993.
In a 1992 The Simpsons episode, "Homer at the Bat", Anson, along with several other players, was suggested by Mr. Burns as one of the players for his 'all stars' baseball team to represent the Springfield power plant, before being informed that they are all long since deceased.
Personal life
In 1872, the 20-year-old Anson met 13-year-old Virginia Fiegel, the daughter of a Philadelphia bar and restaurant owner. The couple got married on November 21, 1876; the marriage lasted until her death in 1916.