Roger Connor

Roger Connor
First baseman
Born: July 1, 1857(1857-07-01) Waterbury, Connecticut
Died: January 4, 1931(1931-01-04) (aged 73) Waterbury, Connecticut
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 1, 1880 for the Troy Trojans
Last MLB appearance
May 18, 1897 for the St. Louis Browns
Career statistics
Batting average	.317
Home runs	138
Runs batted in	1,322
Teams
As Player Troy Trojans - (1880-1882) New York Gothams/Giants - (1883-1889) New York Giants (PL) - (1890) New York Giants (1891) Philadelphia Phillies - (1892) New York Giants (1893-1894) St. Louis Browns - (1893-1897) As Manager St. Louis Browns - 1896
Career highlights and awards
Player's League home run champion: 1890
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1976
Election Method	Veteran's Committee

Roger Connor (July 1, 1857 – January 4, 1931) was a 19th century Major League Baseball player, born in Waterbury, Connecticut. Known for being the player whom Babe Ruth succeeded as the all-time home run champion, Connor hit 138 home runs during his 18-year career, and his career home run record stood for 23 years after his retirement in 1897.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.

Career

Connor entered the National League in 1880 as a member of the Troy Trojans. He later played for the New York Gothams, and, due to his great stature, gave that team the enduring nickname "Giants". He was regularly among the league leaders in batting average and home runs until his retirement in 1897. Although he only led the league in home runs once (the Players' League in 1890), Connor's career mark of 138 was a benchmark not surpassed until 1921 by Babe Ruth. He finished his career with a .317 batting average.^[1] Connor is credited with being the first player to hit a grand slam in the major leagues^[2] and being the first to hit an over-the-wall home run at the Polo Grounds. His grand slam came with two outs and his team down three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. George Vecsey, in The New York Times wrote: "Roger Connor was a complete player — a deft first baseman and an agile base runner who hit 233 triples and stole 244 bases despite his size (6 feet 3 inches and 200 pounds)."^[3]

Over a 12-year period, 1880 through 1891, Connor finished in the top ten in batting average ten times. He led the National League with a .371 average in 1885. Over an 18 year career, Connor finished in the top ten for doubles ten times, finished in the top three for triples seven times and remains fifth all-time in triples with 233. He also established his power credentials by finishing in the top ten in RBIs ten times and top ten in homers twelve times.^[4]

In the 1880s, the Polo Grounds was considered a difficult place to hit a home run. However, on September 11, 1886, Roger Connor hit a ball completely out of the Polo Grounds, off Boston's Old Hoss Radbourn, depositing the ball over the right field fence and onto 112th Street. The New York Times reported of the feat, "He met it squarely and it soared up with the speed of a carrier pigeon. All eyes were turned on the tiny sphere as it soared over the head of Charlie Buffinton in right field." ^[5]

In Connor's first year in the Majors with the Troy Trojans, he teamed with future Hall-of-Famers Dan Brouthers, Buck Ewing, Tim Keefe and Mickey Welch, all of whom were just starting their careers. Also on that 1880 Trojans team, though much older, was Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson.^[6]

After retiring as a player in 1897, Connor moved back to his hometown of Waterbury and managed several minor league teams. He lived to see his career home run record bested by Babe Ruth, although if it was celebrated, it might have been on the wrong day. At one time, Connor's record was thought to be 131, per the Sporting News book Daguerreotypes. As late as the 1980s, in the MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia, it was thought to be 136. However, John Tattersall's 1975 Home Run Handbook, a SABR publication, credited Connor with 138. Both MLB.com and the independent Baseball-Reference.com now consider Connor's total to be 138.

See also

Biography portal

• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
• Hitting for the cycle
• List of Major League Baseball triples records
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball batting champions
• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
• List of Major League Baseball triples champions

References

1. ^ Baseball Almanac, Roger Connor Stats, accessed May 2007.
2. ^ A home run hit on September 10, 1881, according to The New York Times, May 13, 2007, "Sports", p. 3.
3. ^ GEORGE VECSEY (May 13, 2007). "Going Deep, Before Bonds and Aaron and Ruth". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/sports/baseball/13vecsey.html?n=Top%2fNews%2fSports%2fColumns%2fGeorge%20Vecsey. Retrieved 2008-08-09. 
4. ^ Baseball-Reference.com, Appearances on Leaderboards and Awards, Roger Connor Stats
5. ^ Land of the Giants: New York's Polo Grounds, Stew Thornley (2000), Temple University Press, ISBN 1566397960, Excerpt pg. 26
6. ^ Baseball-Reference.com, 1880 Statistics and Roster, 1880 Troy Trojans

External links

• Roger Connor at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Roger Connor managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• Roger Connor at Find a Grave

Preceded by King Kelly	National League Batting Champion 1885	Succeeded by King Kelly
Preceded by Harry Stovey	Career home run record holder 1895-1920	Succeeded by Babe Ruth
Preceded by Cap Anson	National League RBI Champion 1889	Succeeded by Oyster Burns
Preceded by Chris Von der Ahe	St. Louis Browns Manager 1896	Succeeded by Tommy Dowd

Persondata
Name	Connor, Roger
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 1, 1857
Place of birth	Waterbury, Connecticut
Date of death	January 4, 1931
Place of death	Waterbury, Connecticut