Adrian Constantine Anson was born to Henry and Jennette Anson on April 17, 1852 in Marshalltown, Iowa, a town his father helped to found. Adrian was the first white child born in the new pioneer town and is today Cap is remembered as the “first son” of Marshalltown. Young Anson was not much of a student, preferring instead the outdoors and physical activities. He often was involved in scrapes with other boys and general mischief. His father hoped to tame his wildness and so decided to send Adrian to the University of Notre Dame, which at the time accepted students as young as 14. At Notre Dame, he played in the competitive intra-school baseball league for the Juanita team with his brother Sturgis. The team competed against other student athlete squads with names such as Empire, Fashion, Star of the East, Pickwick, Quick-Step, and Young America Baseball Club. Adrian played second base, while Sturgis, the team’s star, roamed center field. He attended the university for two years before returning to Marshalltown. Back at home, Anson's bad habits soon returned. He shunned work in order to play baseball and billiards. Father Henry tried once more to send his son to school, this time choosing the State University in Iowa City. Adrian's behaviors there were scarcely better than at home, and he was asked to leave after a single semester.
In 1872 a 20 year old Anson met 13 year old Virginia Fiegal, the daughter of a Philadelphia bar and restaurant owner. Anson married Virginia on November 21, 1876, and they remained married until her death in 1915. For the first seven years of their marriage, the couple lived in Chicago during the baseball season and Philadelphia during the off season, but eventually moved to Chicago year around. The Ansons had seven children, three of whom would die in infancy.[6] Daughter Grace was born in October 1877, son Adrian Hulbert was born in 1882 and died four days later, daughter Adele was born in April 1884, son Adrian Constantine Jr. was born in 1887 and died four months later, daughter Dorothy was born in 1889, son John Henry was born in 1892 and died four days later, and daughter Virginia Jeanette was born in 1899.
Cap Anson is arguably the greatest baseball player of the 19th century. Cap made his major league debut in April of 1871 with the Rockford Forest Cities in the National Association. The following season (1872) Cap was playing for the Philadelphia Athletics. Cap played with the Athletics for 4 seasons before joining the Chicago White Stockings in 1876. Cap spent the rest of his 27 year career in Chicago with the White Stockings, who became known as the Cubs after his playing days were over. Cap was the first super star in baseball leading the league in hitting 2 times and RBIs 8 times. Cap was influential in helping the National League survive after his Chicago team joined the league in 1876. Besides being a big draw at the gate, Cap encouraged other great players of the day to play in the National League versus the other leagues. Cap spent most of his early days playing 3rd base or catching. Later in his career he moved across the mound and played a lot of 1st base. During his 27 seasons, Cap played every position on the field including pitcher. Cap ended his playing days by becoming the first player to surpass the 3,000 (3418) hit barrier. He also tallied 2076 RBIs, 97 HRs and had a career batting average of .333. Cap was named captain of the club became player manager in 1879 and that's when the nickname, Cap (captain) came about. He led the team as a player/manager to 5 National League Pennants over the course of 19 seasons. Caps last season in the big leagues was spent managing the New York Giants in 1898. Upon retirement from baseball, Cap was active in many arenas. He spent time as city clerk of Chicago, politics and even owning a semi- pro baseball club. He also toured on the vaudeville circuit. Anson retired from vaudeville in 1921, and refused a pension from Major League Baseball, despite having no other income. In April 1922, he became the general manager of a new golf club in the South Side of Chicago. Following a glandular ailment, Cap Anson died on April 14, 1922 at the age of 69 in Chicago, Illinois and was interred at the Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago. In 1939, Adrian Cap Anson was one of the inaugural inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Anson still holds many Chicago Cubs career records including most Hits, RBIs and runs scored.
