[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

While I agree that Anson had a longer and much more successful career than King Kelly, I don't know if that means he was more important to baseball. Kelly helped popularize the sport as much as anyone and was more innovative.

From his SABR bio: In Slide, Kelly, Slide, a biography of Kelly, author Marty Appel quotes early baseball historian Maclean Kennedy about Kelly’s baseball prowess. Kennedy saw Kelly play, and wrote, “There was never a better or more brilliant player. Colorful beyond description, he was the light and the life of the game. … He was one of the quickest thinkers that ever took a signal. He originated more trick plays than all players put together. … As a drawing card, he was the greatest of his time."

There is a reason why he was the first $10,000 player--owners knew his draw at the park would made it a good investment.

In 1889 a song called “Slide, Kelly Slide,” sold millions of copies of sheet music. Later, in 1892, when early recording techniques allowed for songs to be reproduced, “Slide, Kelly Slide” became America’s first hit record and remained popular into the 1920s.

Further from his SABR bio: "Kelly did as much as any other player to popularize professional baseball in the nineteenth century. His popularity transcended the game and became part of popular culture. He had a large effect on the game. It was said that half the rules in the baseball rulebook were rewritten to keep Kelly from taking advantage of loopholes. He played the game with gusto and looked for every edge he could get to win, and his teams won eight championships in 16 years. We are not likely to see a player like King Kelly again."

I agree with this. It boils down to what metric one is using. From the perspective of popularizing the game, IMO Kelly had more of an influence than Anson.