Cap Anson vs George Kelly: Career Stats Comparison
Cap Anson (1871–1897) and George Kelly (1915–1932) — they broke in during the 1870s and the 1910s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Cap Anson finished with 3,435 hits and 97 home runs; George Kelly finished with 1,778 hits and 148 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
George Kelly
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Cap Anson and George Kelly. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Cap Anson | George Kelly |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 2,524 | 1,622 |
| At-Bats | 10,281 | 5,993 |
| Runs | 1,999 | 819 |
| Hits | 3,435 | 1,778 |
| Doubles | 582 | 337 |
| Triples | 142 | 76 |
| Home Runs | 97 | 148 |
| RBI | 2,075 | 1,020 |
| Walks | 984 | 386 |
| Strikeouts | 330 | 694 |
| Stolen Bases | 277 | 65 |
| Batting Avg | .334 | .297 |
| On-Base % | .394 | .342 |
| Slugging % | .447 | .452 |
| OPS | .841 | .794 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Cap Anson outpaces George Kelly 52,242 to 9,050 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,935 vs 503 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
Cap Anson — top 3 seasons by OPS
George Kelly — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Cap Anson leads in hits, RBI, runs, and stolen bases, while George Kelly owns home runs. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Cap Anson. PIV agrees: Cap Anson grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.