MLB History 101: Cap Anson

Cap Anson was born April 17, 1852 in Marshalltown, Iowa, as Adrian Constantine Anson. He later would be called “Cap” which was a short name for Captain.

An outstanding batter and clubhouse leader, Anson is widely regarded as one of the foremost baseball figures of the 1800’s. He was the National League batting leader three times and was the first player ever to get 3,000 hits, ranking him number 7 in career hits with 3,418.

When Anson was 14 he was sent to a boarding school of the University of Notre Dame for high-school aged boys. The reason his father exiled him was due to his mischievousness.