Adrian Constantine Anson was born to Henry and Jennette Anson on April 17, 1852 in Marshalltown, Iowa, a town his father helped to found.
Henry Anson’s son, Adrian “Cap” Anson, led the Anson baseball team in Marshalltown for years before turning to professional baseball in 1872, when he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics. He later became captain of the Chicago White Stockings. Cap was a leading hitter in the National League and set a record by playing big league baseball for 27 years. He was immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and was the first Iowan named to the state’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Billy Sunday also played baseball for the Marshalltown Ansons and went on to the major leagues. After a few years in the majors, Sunday “found religion” and quit baseball. He toured the nation and shook up the citizens of Marshalltown with his fiery oratory before earning national fame as America’s leading evangelist.
“He was the greatest batter that ever walked up to hit at a baseball thrown by a pitcher. I have seen them all from his day to this. I played against him and I know. He was a fine, big, honorable man on and off the baseball field.” – Charles Comiskey
Although he’d played mostly as a third baseman and catcher in his early years, 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.