When you think of 19th century baseball, it's hard to ignore Cap Anson, one of baseball's first superstars. The boy from Iowa played 27 seasons of professional baseball, and at the time of his retirement, owned numerous records.
Anson played a few seasons with the Rockford Forest Citys and Philadelphia Athletics before finally signing with the team he is most known for, the Chicago White Stockings/Colts (now known as the Cubs).
The 1st basemen started slowly for Chicago, but after being named captain-manager of the club in 1879, he really started to play well. His managerial skills helped revolutionize the game, bringing fresh ideas to help win 5 pennants in his first 8 years with the team. He starting doing the hit and run, having base coaches and rotating pitchers to give them more rest.
Anson also credits his installation of spring training to helping his team have an advantage. With all these new tactics, the best part of the team was Anson produced himself. He won four batting titles and seven RBI titles during his tenure. His best year came in 1881, when he hit .399 and drove in 82 runs (leading the league in both).
Anson would stay with Chicago all the way until 1897. His skills diminished somewhat during the latter part of his career, but he did bat over .300 in 20 of his 27 total seasons.
When he retired, Anson was the all-time leader in games, hits, at-bats, doubles and runs. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, and remains known as one of the first pioneers of the sport. He will also always have the distinction of being the first guy into the exclusive 3000 hit club.
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