For any Cap Anson fans...

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Posted By: Brad

Thought I would make all of you vintage collectors aware of my new website "Cap Chronicled - The Life and Times of Adrian 'Cap' Anson" (http://www.capanson.com). As a fellow collector, I am devoting several pages to Cap's vintage cards and collectible ephemera.

If you buy or sell Anson cards, I hope you will take a look at the Cap Collectors' Club page. My goal is to make this page a hotspot for Cap collectors to both post wants and items for sale. For a very small fee, anyone can post their Anson cards for sale. Since right now I am trying to get this Club going, if any readers of this post have an Anson card they want to post for sale or trade on the page, I will waive the entire listing fee through January 31, 2005. Just mention the VBC Forum when you contact me.

Even for non-collectors, I hope you enjoy this look at a fascinating personality of 1800's baseball. Sorry all the biographical section is not completed yet, but should be up by the end of the month.

By the way... if you have any suggestions or feedback on the site, I'd enjoy reading your posts here.

Brad Wackerlin - Lake in the Hills, IL
(My other websites include: http://www.markgrace.com, http://www.sportscardstars.com, and http://www.gracecollector.com)

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Posted By: jamie

id encourage everyone to check out brad's gracecollector website. its truly the most amazing player collector website ive seen- tons of rarities and an astounding collection of grace cards- you dont need to be a fan to appreciate it

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Posted By: Julie

not to see ther Harper's Woodcut 1874 mentioned as his first non-private appearance in print...

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Posted By: hankron

He's wearing clothes, Julie

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Posted By: warshawlaw

was he the driving force behind the exclusion of black ballplayers?

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Posted By: Ryan Christoff

Adam,

He absolutely was.

Other than Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, etc., no one has done more damage to the game of baseball than Jim Crow Anson.

That said, it looks like Brad has done a really nice job on his website and I commend him for including the section about Anson's racism which he's titled "Cap's Great Shame."

Anson is my most-hated non-Red Sox player, but the website looks great and is obviously a labor of love. I'd like to see more sites like this about other players.

Well done.

-Ryan

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Posted By: Pcelli60

Why not start a movement to get him out of the Hall? How about Cobb? Anson and a Hell of a lot of other reasons kept Baseball segregated..

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Posted By: Julie

Does "Non-private" mean he's NOT wearing clothes?

It's bad enough being an English teacher who has trouble with the language, but I don't need bawling out when I get something right...

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Posted By: Julie

from materializing in the major leagues for 64 years...

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Posted By: Brad

I didn't list the Harper's Woodcut on the card page because it was printed as an illustration to a magazine article. I may include the entire Harpers issue in the bottom part of the page under "publications." I did however have it pictured on the "photos" page.

Brad

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Posted By: Brad

Without a doubt, Anson was a racist. What is important to consider, however, is the historical context. His opinions on African-Americans were shared by many other whites in both baseball and the population at large. We must remember that the period of time we are talking about is only 30 years after the Civil War. Racism would be rampant in American Culture throughout the late 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century. Cap's refusal to play a game in which Fleetwood Walker, a black catcher and outfielder, is pointed at as the "line drawn in the sand" in regards to segregation in baseball. But it is almost certain blacks would not be permitted to play in the majors even if Cap hadn't been in the league. There were just too many white owners and players with racist beliefs at that period in history to think otherwise. The wide reporting of the Walker / Anson incident resulted in Anson earning the segregation scapegoat reputation. But it is unfair to have him shoulder all the blame. A color line was inevitable, albeit a great shame to the national game. On the page, I'll document talks that occurred in baseball several months earlier than the Walker incident in which the color line was discussed. And the fact that it took over 55 years to repel the ban of black players is proof that racist attitudes extended way beyond Anson's influence. Yes - Anson was a racist, but he was not alone. And it is unfair to say the "gentlemen's agreement" to exclude blacks was entirely his fault.

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Posted By: hankron

"Each generation sets its own blinders, then claims its vision is unimpeded."

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Posted By: Richard

Evening folks,

My compliments to Brad on a well done site. I look forward to Jan 1 when it's done so that I can read the rest of it...

On another note, has anyone on the board read either of Howard Rosenberg's books on Cap Anson?

Cheers,

Richard.