Odd Thoughts

Forgotten Hall of Famers

This may become a series, and it may not. Many times I've noticed how many Hall of Famers there are that I know nothing about, so in an effort to correct that, I'm going to tell about one of them right here. I plan, at least for now, to limit the series to players only. Maybe I'll deal with executives and such later.

For a little background, the Hall of Fame began in 1936. In that year, the Baseball Writers elected five players: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson, and Walter Johnson. All of these guys are well known, as is the case with the class of 1937: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, and Cy Young. Only one player was elected in 1938, Pete (Grover Cleveland) Alexander. 1939 is the first group in which some of the Hall of Famers have slipped from the forefront of baseball legends.

So to kick this thing off, let me introduce you to Cap Anson. Born Adrian Constantine Anson on April 17th, 1852 in Marshalltown, Iowa, Anson began his career in 1871, at the age of 19, with the Rockford Forest Citys of the National Association, the forerunnerof the National League. In 1872, he moved to the Philadelpia Athletics, also of the National Association, where he played until 1875. He spent most of his time at first and third base, but between 1871 and 1875 he played at least five games at every other field position. He batted over .325 in each of those years, with a high of .415 in 1872 over the course of of a 46 game full schedule. He also managed to finish in the top 10 of almost every statistical category in that time frame, but it wasn't until he moved to the Chicago White Stockings (later the Cubs) of the National League in 1876 that he became a true superstar.

Anson is generally viewed as the first true big-name player in the history of the game. He continued with Chicago for 21 years, retiring in 1897 for a 27 year career with 3,418 hits with a .333 career batting average, and 2,076 RBI's. He won batting titles in 1881 (.399) and 1888 (.344), batting over .300 in 24 of his 27 seasons. He led the league in RBI's 8 times, with a career high of 147 in 1886. He was named manager of the Chicago club in 1879, managing and playing for 18 years. Under his leadership the team won five championships with a record of 1,283/932 (.579).

When he became playing manager in 1879, he put himself permanently at first base. The stocky six-footer was no artist in the field. He holds the all-time record for most errors committed by a first baseman, but he played at a time when gloves were not used and errors were common. Longevity also helped account for his error record. A true baseball innovator, he encouraged basestealing, devised hit-and-run plays, and was one of the first to rotate pitchers. he was the first manager to institutionalize preseason training, laying down strict training rules for his players and enforcing them with his fists if necessary. He had an explosive temper and could be a cruel bench jockey and umpire baiter.

Anson was an excellent representative of the dirty style of baseball played in this era. Generally regarded as strict and principled on one hand, on the other he was also known to go from first to third, skipping second, when the umpires back was turned.

Anson became part-owner of the White Stockings in 1888, but he sold his stock when he left the team in 1897. The team was so linked with his image that when he finally left, they were known for a while as the "Orphans." He managed the Giants for 22 games in 1898, then left baseball. When he later had financial problems, the NL attempted to establish a pension for him, but he rejected it. He died in 1922, three days short of his 70th birthday.