Roger Connor: Home Run King of 19th Century Baseball

by Roy Kerr

Known today as "the Babe Ruth of the 1880s," Hall of Famer Roger Connor was the greatest of the nineteenth-century home run hitters, his career total (138) having stood as the major league record for nearly 24 years--until it was broken by Ruth himself. When he retired in 1897, he was also tops in triples (233), second in walks and total bases, third in hits, and fourth in doubles. But Connor did more than swing from his heels. He was an expert bunter who averaged more than twenty stolen bases a year (some credit him with inventing the "pop-up" slide) and led the league four times in fielding. Called "The Gentleman of the Diamond," the slugger was never ejected from a game in seventeen major league seasons. This biography sheds new light on the life and five-decade baseball career of one of the games most admired and beloved players.

Genres: Baseball

212 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2011

Reviews

[M. Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best biography of a long forgotten early baseball hero. Thoroughly researched - and with footnotes, statistics in the appendices, and sources (which is a very welcome addition to SABR books, many of which do not include the details). And it’s also well written with only a little of the repetition I’ve seen in nearly every baseball bio produced by a SABR member.

It’s easy now to see why the HOF committee didn’t want Roger Connor inducted for a long time. He reminded them of how much players detested the total monopolistic control owners had over their lives - and by his loyalty to the Players League, he must have been especially disliked by those who controlled the early Hall inductees.

Highly recommended for the baseball fan, casual or serious, especially those interested in labor laws and 19th century history.

[Michael C Dreimiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It's does a nice job of detailing his Hall of Fame career and putting it in context with the history of the early days of baseball.