Roger Connor, Baseball's Forgotten Home Run King

By John Mooney

Much has been made of Barry Bonds' breaking the home run record held by Hank Aaron, who supplanted the legendary Babe Ruth. But how many people know the name of the man who Ruth replaced as baseball's all-time home run king?

His name was Roger Connor, whose record of 138 home runs in the 19th century stood until 1921 when it was shattered by the Babe. Like many early baseball stars, he was the son of Irish immigrants who left during the Famine years.

Connor was born just over 150 years ago on July 1, 1857, in Waterbury, Connecticut. His parents did not want him to play baseball, which was thought by many to be a rough sport of rogues and unsavory characters.

A big, powerful man for his time (6 ft. 3 inches, 220 lbs.), the handsome Connor sported a thick handlebar mustache, as did many players of his day. In addition to being the all-time home run leader until Ruth came along, Connor is also credited with hitting baseball's first ever grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 9th during a game in 1881.

The left-handed slugger began his baseball career at age 22 as a third baseman with the now defunct Troy Trojans of the National League in 1880. A terrible fielder, he committed 60 errors in just 84 games, resulting in a switch to first base, where he played most of his games. Connor occasionally played third base, outfield and second base, which was a bad idea, considering he committed 71 errors at the position in 1884. Following his first three seasons with Troy, he became a New York Giant (and thus Barry Bonds has become the second home run king to play for the organization).

In 1886, Connor hit a home run clear out of the Polo Grounds off pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourne, a fellow Hall of Famer. Fans from the New York Stock Exchange were so amazed by the feat that they passed around a hat and collected $500, enough money to buy the power hitter a gold watch. The next year, Connor hit a career high 17 home runs - a total higher than three NL teams (Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Brooklyn). He also hit three consecutive home runs for the Giants against Indianapolis in an 1888 game, which furthered the legend of his slugging prowess. Connor passed Harry Stovey, a now obscure dead ball era player who held the title from 1889 until 1895, and ended his career at age 39 with the St. Louis Browns in 1897.

Over the course of 18 seasons, Connor finished with a .317 career batting average and 2,467 hits, including 233 triples (still fifth on the all-time list), 138 home runs, 1,322 RBI along with 244 stolen bases. He led baseball in home runs only once when he hit 14 in 1890 for the short-lived Players League. His reign as home run king lasted nearly a quarter century from 1895 until 1921, yet there was little fanfare when Ruth surpassed the mark. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball's first commissioner, was not on hand for the event. Connor wasn't invited; in fact, it was not widely known at the time that he held the record.

Following his playing career, Connor returned to Waterbury, where he bought and managed a semi-pro team. In his later years, he was a maintenance worker and lived his life away from the spotlight of baseball fame. He died in 1931 and was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Joseph's Cemetery.

Shortly after Hank Aaron surpassed the Babe Ruth in 1974, interest rose in the man who held the crown before Yankee legend did. Just two years later, the "dead ball era" slugger was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by its Veterans Committee.

When legendary baseball memorabilia expert Barry Halper discovered that Connor lived in a house that had a weathervane shaped like a bat on his house, the collector sought to get it.

"He drove through the older section of Waterbury and looked at the tops of the houses until he found it. Halper knocked on the door, and bought it from the owner," said baseball historian Marty Appel, a consultant on ESPN's miniseries, The Bronx Is Burning.

Although he had a Hall of Fame plaque, Connor did not have a headstone on his grave until 2001, when one was erected by the Waterbury Monuments Committee.