| 1826 |
Birth of Henry “Hank’’
Anson, Cap’s father |
| 1829/30 |
Birth of Jeanette Rice, Cap’s
mother |
| 1846 |
Iowa becomes a state and Marshall
County, Iowa., gets its name |
|
Marriage of Hank Anson and Jeanette
Rice |
| 1846/47 |
Birth of Melville Anson, Cap’s
eldest brother (died between 1856 and 1860) |
| 1850 |
Birth of Sturgis Anson, Cap’s
one other sibling besides Melville |
| 1851 |
For the first time, Hank
Anson and later the rest of family arrives in future town named
Marshall in Marshall County |
| 1852 |
Birth of Adrian Constantine ”Cap”
Anson |
| 1859 |
Death of Jeanette Anson, 29 or 30 |
|
Birth of Virginia “Jennie’’
Fiegel, Cap’s future wife |
| 1860 |
Aunt Emily comes to living with the
Anson family, helping raise Cap and Sturgis |
| 1863 |
Marshalltown, Iowa, Cap’s birthplace,
officially gets its name |
| 1866-68 |
Cap and Sturgis sent to boarding school
at Notre Dame |
| 1868-70 |
Cap and Sturgis attend University
of Iowa |
| 1868 |
Henry Anson marries Olivia Putnam,
his second wife |
| 1870 |
Al Spalding’s Rockford team plays
at Marshalltown |
| 1871 |
National Association, the first professional
baseball league, is formed |
|
Cap plays his first season of professional
baseball for National Association’s team from Rockford, Illinois
- the Forest Citys |
| 1872-75 |
Cap plays for National Association’s
team from Philadelphia - the Athletics |
| 1874 |
Cap goes on baseball and cricket tour
of England, Ireland and Scotland |
| 1875 |
National Association disbanded |
|
Al Spalding signs with Chicago White
Stockings; enlists Cap to play for Chicago in upcoming season |
| 1876 |
First year of the National League |
|
Cap signs with Chicago White Stockings
after long attempt to have his contract voided |
|
Chicago wins the first National League
pennant |
|
Cap marries Virginia “Jennie’’
Fiegel in Philadelphia |
| 1877 |
Daughter Grace is born (first of seven
children) |
|
Spalding retires after season as Chicago’s
captain-manager |
| 1879 |
Cap assumes post of Chicago’s
captain-manager |
|
Enactment of reserve clause by baseball
owners effectively binds players to their teams |
| 1880 |
For the first time with Cap as
captain-manager, Chicago wins NL pennant |
| 1881 |
Chicago wins second NL pennant under
Anson |
| 1882 |
Death of National League’s Founder
and Chicago White Stocking’s President William A. Hulbert,
age 49 |
|
Al Spalding becomes Chicago president
and John R. Walsh co-majority owner |
|
Son Adrian Hulbert Anson is born,
dies weeks later |
|
Chicago wins third consecutive NL
pennant under Anson |
| 1882-91 |
Existence of American Association,
longest rival to National League through 1900 |
| 1883 |
On field, Cap vows not to play against
black player Fleet Walker of Toledo, then backs off when forfeiture
of gate receipts is threatened |
| 1884 |
Daughter Adele is born |
|
Cap again vows not to play against
African-American Fleet Walker, Toledo plays without him |
|
With brother-in-law Remy, Cap attends
Pierce’s Business College during baseball’s off season |
| 1885 |
Chicago makes first Southern spring
training trip as we know it |
|
Chicago wins fourth NL pennant under
Anson |
|
In billiards, Cap wins the first public
14-inch balkline match |
| 1886 |
Anson fined by an umpire for first
time |
|
Chicago wins fifth NL pennant under
Anson, his last |
|
Starting in December, Cap helps run
toboggan slide on Chicago’s grounds |
| 1887 |
Cap reportedly vows not to play against
George Stovey; Newark supposedly backs off |
|
Son Adrian C. Jr. is born |
|
Cap manages Spalding’s racket
courts in offseason |
| 1888 |
Adrian C. Jr. dies |
|
Baseball writers begin
calling Chicago team the Colts; nickname soon replaces White Stockings |
|
On field, Cap objects
to playing against Walker of Syracuse; Syracuse backs off |
|
Cap makes stage debut, a one-nighter
in a Hoyt play |
| 1888-1889 |
Cap goes on Spalding’s baseball
tour around the world |
| 1889 |
Daughter Dorothy is born |
| 1890 |
Players’ League’s one year
of existence; Cap stays loyal to National League |
|
Cap starts being called a “Grand
Old Man’’ with some frequency in newspapers |
| 1891 |
Jim Hart becomes Chicago president;
Spalding and John R. Walsh still CO-majority stockholders |
|
Cap ventures into ginger beer in offseason |
| 1892 |
Birth and death of Cap‘s son
John Henry Anson |
| 1895 |
Cap shaves his mustache for good |
|
Cap ejected from game for first time |
|
Cap has star billing in “A Runaway
Colt" |
| 1896 |
Cap take up golf as a hobby |
| 1897 |
Chicago friends arrange a day in his
honor |
|
Cap retires from the National League
|
| 1898 |
With Cap no longer with Chicago; Orphans
becomes the team nickname |
|
Daughter Grace marries |
|
Cap tries unsuccessfully to buy Chicago
club |
|
Cap manages NL’s New York Giants
for a few weeks |
| 1899 |
Cap leases a building in Chicago and
opens billiard hall and bowling alley |
|
Eldest grandchild Anson Clough is
born |
|
Daughter Virginia Anson is born (last
of seven children) |
| 1900 |
Cap’s autobiography "A
Ball Player's Career" is published |
| 1901-02 |
Cap umpires amateur games in which
black players appear |
| 1903 |
Cap elected second vice president
of the American Bowling Congress (serves until 1907) |
|
Cap elected sergeant-at-arms of Chicago
Democratic Club |
| 1905 |
Cap elected city clerk of Chicago
(serves until 1907) |
|
Death of Henry Anson, age 79 |
|
Cap sells his accumulated stock in
Chicago’s National League team, officially ending his involvement
with the team |
| 1906 |
Cap loses in Democratic primary for
sheriff of Cook County |
| 1907 |
Cap purchases and manages semi-pro
team in Chicago, Anson’s Colts (through 1909) |
| 1908 |
Cap appears in court for bankruptcy
proceedings |
|
Daughter Dorothy marries |
|
Cap plays in semipro games against
all-black teams (also in 1909) |
| 1909 |
Cap, because of finances, is forced
to sell billiard hall |
| 1910 |
Cap’s bankruptcy leads to loss
of longtime home to default |
|
Cap makes solo vaudeville skit debut
with George M. Cohan material |
| 1911 |
Death of Sturgis Anson, age 60 |
|
Cap writes series of articles on his
life in Chicago Journal and Boston Globe newspapers |
|
Albert Spalding publishes his memoirs
”America’s National Game” |
| 1913 |
Death at Cap’s residence of Aunt
Emily Anson (married name Haviland), age 75 |
| 1915 |
Death of Albert Spalding, age 65 |
| 1916 |
Death of wife Virginia “Jennie’’
Fiegel, age 56 |
|
Cap, Adele and Dorothy appear on vaudeville
tour together for first time |
| 1918 |
At Oakland, Cap filmed on the field,
including catching honorary first pitch and throwing ball back |
|
Daughter Virginia marries |
| 1919 |
Death of Jim Hart, 64, Chicago president
from 1891 to 1905 |
| 1921 |
Cap, Adele and Dorothy go on their
last vaudeville tour |
| 1922 |
Cap hired to manage new Dixmoor Golf
Club on South Side |
|
Death of Cap Anson, three days
short of his 70th birthday |
| 1923 |
Unveiling of National League monument
to Cap |
| 1924 |
Death of Fleet Walker, age 67 |
| 1930 |
Death of Emeline Anson, 91, likely
Cap’s last surviving aunt or uncle |
| 1939 |
Cap elected to the Hall of Fame |
| 1967 |
Death of Grace Anson Clough, 89, eldest
of four daughters |
|
Death of Anson Clough, 68, eldest
grandchild |
| 1970 |
Death of Adele Anson Cherry, 86, second
of four daughters |
| 1972 |
Death of Dorothy Anson Dodge, 83,
third of four daughters |
| 1986 |
Death of Virginia Anson Shanvall,
86, last surviving child |
| 2005 |
Death of Virginia Sherwood, 85, last
surviving grandchild |
|
Cap Chronicled - The Cap Anson Website
- is launched |
