Roger Connor

Early life

Roger Connor was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Mortimer and Catherine Sullivan Connor, both Irish immigrants. Mortimer had come to the United States just five years earlier. The family lived in Waterbury’s Abrigador district, an Irish neighborhood cut off from the rest of the city by a large granite hill. Connor was the third of eleven children; two died young.

His younger brother Joe later played in the majors. Connor quit school at about age twelve to work with his father at a local brass mill. He began his professional baseball career in 1876 with the Waterbury Monitors of the Eastern League. Although left-handed, he started as a third baseman.

MLB playing career

The team finished fourth with a 41–42 record. Connor committed 60 errors in 83 games and sustained a shoulder injury, prompting a move to first base in 1881. He later played for the New York Gothams, and his great stature gave the team the enduring nickname 'Giants'. On September 10, 1881, Connor hit baseball's first grand slam, a walk-off home run at Riverfront Park.

He led the NL with a .371 average in 1885. On September 11, 1886, he hit a ball completely out of the Polo Grounds off Boston's Old Hoss Radbourn, a feat that prompted New York Stock Exchange fans to buy him a $500 gold watch. That year he experimented with hitting to the opposite field and occasionally batting right-handed.

Personal life

In 1886, Connor and his wife Angeline had a daughter named Lulu, who died as an infant. Connor believed the death was punishment for marrying Angeline, who was not Catholic; she had secretly begun Catholic education and planned to be baptized on what would have been Lulu's first birthday.

The couple later adopted a girl named Cecelia from a Catholic orphanage in New York City. They lived in Waterbury, Connecticut, where a winter banquet was held in Connor's honor each year. Angeline gave Roger a weather vane made from two of his baseball bats, which became a well-known landmark in Waterbury.

Later life

Connor signed with the Fall River Indians of the New England League in June 1897, wearing eyeglasses on the field. In 1898 he returned to Waterbury, purchased the local minor league team, and served as president, manager, and first baseman. His wife kept the team's books and his daughter collected tickets; his brother Joe was the catcher. After the 1899 season, Connor expressed satisfaction that the team played well and did not lose money despite low attendance.

In 1901 he considered purchasing the Hartford franchise but instead bought the Springfield Ponies after selling the Waterbury club. He announced his retirement in September 1903, though he had made similar statements before. He attended a 1904 game as a spectator.

Connor worked as a school inspector in Waterbury until 1920. He lived to see Babe Ruth break his home run record, though the exact number of his home runs was long disputed; totals of 131, 136, and 138 were reported before 138 became accepted. Connor died on January 4, 1931, after a lengthy stomach illness, at age 73. He was buried in an unmarked grave at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Waterbury until a group of citizens raised money for a grave marker in 2001.