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 Roger Connor and New York Gothams Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:

Baseball Oddities: Career Home Run Record Holders!

Here’s a real baseball oddity that I’ll bet you never thought about: Since 1895, 124 years ago, there have been only four players to hold the career home run record!

Now that you’re thinking about it, three of the names are easy to come up with: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds. But the fourth? Any guesses? Here’s a hint: He’s in the great featured photo,

It was Hall-of-Famer Roger Connor, who held the record for 23 years with 138, until it was broken by Babe Ruth when he hit his 139^th home run on July 18, 1921.

Babe held the record for 52 years (1921-1973). Hank Aaron held it for 32 years (1974-2006), and Barry Bonds is the record holder since 2007.

In the great photo above of the 1883 New York Gothams, we see Roger Connor in the middle row, far right. Complete Identifications: 

Top, Buck Ewing, Frank Hankinson, John Humphries, Monte Ward. Middle: Gracie Pierce (?), Tip O’Neill, John Clapp (Mgr.), Ed Caskin, Roger Connor. Front: Mickey Welch, Dasher Troy. 

Roger Connor’s Career

The great 19th-century star Roger Connor played in the major leagues for 18 years for numerous teams, but his longest was with the Giants. Over his career (1880-1897), he hit .317, with 2,467 hits, 138 home runs, 1,322 RBIs, 244 stolen bases, and a .397 on-base percentage. He was a two-time batting champion and led the league in home runs once and RBIs once. He had numerous top-ten finishes in home runs, batting average, triples, RBIs, and doubles.  He is currently fifth all-time in triples with 233.

Interesting information about Roger Connor:

• Due to his large statue (6’3”, 200 pounds), he’s responsible for the New York Gothams becoming the New York Giants.
• Although left-handed, he started his career as a third baseman. After committing 60 errors in 83 games, he was switched to first base.
• In his first year with the Troy Trojans, he teamed with Hall-of-Famers Dan Brouthers, Buck Ewing, Tim Keefe, and Mickey Welch. That must have been quite a team!
• His manager on that Troy Trojans team was Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson, one of the greatest baseball nicknames!
• On September 11, 1886, he hit a ball completely out of the Polo Grounds off Hall-of-Famer Old Hoss Radbourn over the right field fence.

Elected to the Hall of Fame

Connor was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976 after a long campaign in his behalf by umpire  Bill Klem. Connor died on January 4, 1931, following a lengthy stomach illness. 

Let’s take a moment to remember the great 19th-century star, Roger Connor!

Gary Livacari 

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Information: Statistics from Baseball-Reference. com

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