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Anson on Broadway: the failure of A Runaway Colt.(Adrian C. Anson, Chicago White Stockings)
- Article from:
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The National Pastime
- Article date:
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January 1, 2005
- Author:
- Schaefer, Robert H.
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2005 University of Nebraska Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Adrian C. Anson, who rose to national prominence as captain of the Chicago White Stockings, was the first of what is now a long list of baseball players who succumbed to the lure of the footlights. Anson made his theatrical debut in 1895 in a production called A Runaway Colt. Arguably the most famous baseball player of his day, the play was written expressly for him by the leading playwright of his day. It was performed on Broadway, as well as theatres in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Syracuse, Troy, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Duluth. Despite its sterling pedigree, the play and its star were universally judged to be an utter catastrophe. The failure was so colossal that it echoes across ...