Top Ten All Time Chicago Cubs By Position

First Base — Cap Anson (1876-1897)

Cap Anson was one of Major League Baseball’s first superstars. He was the first player to reach 3,000 hits. He played 22 seasons with the Cubs, where he collected 3,081 hits, had a hitting slash of .331/.396/.448, an OPS+ of 142, 247 stolen bases, and 1880 RBI.

Anson hit .300 or better in 20 of his 22 seasons with the Cubs (ironically enough who were originally named the Chicago White Stockings). He led the league in RBIs eight times between 1880-1891 and won batting titles in 1881 and 1888.

When Anson retired at age 45, he owned records for hits, at-bats, doubles and runs.

Anson was also the Cubs’ manager. He was a player/manager of the team for 19 seasons, winning almost 1,300 games and winning five pennants. He was credited with creating the hit and run and establishing the pitching rotation.

Over a century after he retired, Anson still owns Cubs’ records in batting average (.339), runs (1,712), hits (3,081), singles (2,330), doubles (530) and RBI (1,880).

Next: Second Base --The Throw-in