Cap Anson
First Base

1871 Rockford Forest Citys
1872-75 Philadelphia Athletics
1876-1897 Chicago White Sox

• First professional baseball player to attain 3,000 career hits

• Hit .300 during 18 seasons, an NL record

• Holds non-modern record for most seasons played: 27 (5 in the National Association, 22 in the National League)

• Played baseball at Notre Dame for one year before turning pro in 1871

• Was player-manager of the White Sox from 1879-1897 and manager of the Giants for a short period in 1898

• Using his bat and managerial skills, Anson led the White Sox to the NL pennant 5 times in the 1880s

• Used his widespread popularity to keep the Giants from signing black pitcher George Stovey in 1887. The color line in major league baseball would not be seriously tested again until Jackie Robinson's arrival in 1947.

• Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

1886 Tobin Lithograph Co. trade card featuring Anson

• Averaged an RBI every five at-bats over his long career

• Used a split grip to hold his bats

• Won 2 batting titles and 4 RBI crowns

• Widely regarded as the first manager to use a standard pitching rotation. Also was the first manager to use hand signals to talk to his hitters and fielders.

• The first manager to have pre-season training, the precursor of today's spring training

• Anson's real name was Adrian. His first nickname was "Baby" because of his constant complaining to umpires. But as his career progressed and he became a superstar, Anson's nickname changed to "Cap," short for "Captain." Late in his career, he became known as "Pop" Anson because of his long career.

• After the unpopular decision was made by White Sox management to fire superstar Anson in 1897, the team acquired the nickname "Orphans" in tribute to their missing star for a time before eventually adopting the moniker of "Cubs."

• Was a vaudeville actor for a long time after retiring from baseball.