A 1903 photo of Cap Anson on horseback which was printed with stories announcing his new foray into politics.
The Chicago Inter Ocean said:
Adrian Constantine Anson, who was captain of the Colts in the good old days when the National League pennant floated over the West Side ball grounds, has signed with another club , and will make his first appearance next Saturday when he will assume charge of the Chicago Democratic Club at its annual picnic.”
Among Anson’s duties were promoting Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison Jr. as a potential nominee for the presidency in 1904, and leading uniformed marchers at club events; at Anson’s first event, the group welcomed William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate for president in the two previous elections. Anson led a procession of more than 500 members of the club to meet Bryan at Chicago’s Northwestern Station and accompany him to the picnic.
The Chicago Evening Post said, “Harrison feels under much obligation to Anson for bringing all the baseball men over to him,” during his first campaign in 1897.
Harrison fell short in his bid for the Democratic nomination in 1904, partly as a result of the negative national press he received after 602 people died in Chicago’s Iroquois Theater fire in December of 1903.
Anson’s role with the Democratic Club led to the party slating him as a candidate for city clerk in 1905. According to The Chicago Tribune, Anson told the crowd when he received the nomination:
“I believe the baseball boys will roll up a big score for the captain of the ticket and the rest of us. Now, I hope you’ll excuse me–I have the inclination to go on, and if I had the vocabulary I’m not sure I’d ever stop.”
He was elected clerk and served one term. Two years later Anson was defeated in his campaign for Cook County Sheriff, ending his political career.
Baseball History Daily 
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