Cap Anson Marquee Hall of Fame 1939

How many hits he had depends on what is counted. This archive credits him with 3,012 in the leagues now recognized as major, from 1876 through 1897, and another 423 in five National Association seasons before that, for 3,435 in all. Baseball stopped treating the National Association as a major league in the 1960s. The question has never been settled.

Either way he got there first, and his is the only 3,000th hit on this site that cannot be dated to a game: the play-by-play record begins in 1912, fifteen years after he retired. He drove in the most runs in the National League eight times between 1880 and 1891 and finished with 1,880.

He captained and managed the Chicago club for nineteen years and was the most visible figure in the game through the 1880s. He was also the loudest voice for keeping Black players out of the white leagues, and the color line closed while he was that voice. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.