Anson put together an outstanding 27-year career between 1871 and 1897, going from the National Association to the Majors and, alongside Al Spalding and George Wright becoming one of the most important figures in the games early league formation.
The first player to reach 3000 hits, Anson collected 3435 total professional knocks along with 2075 runs batted in, 1999 runs scored and 582 doubles before he hung up the spikes, all league records at the time.
During his storied career he led the league in RBI’s eight times, batting average four times, and topped .300 an incredible 24 times, 20 of which were consecutive from the start of his career!
His influence was huge, and not until guys like Cobb and Wagner came into the picture would there be another player like him, and was evident by his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.