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After two years in the minors and in independent ball, Roger Connor got his start in the big leagues playing for the Troy Trojans in 1880. Originally a third baseman, Connor moved across the diamond to take up first base, the primary position for the rest of his career.

Connor holds a special place in baseball history. In 1895 he hit his 123rd career homer to break Harry Stovey’s MLB record. Interestingly, Connor never led the league in homers in any season.

Before retiring Connor hit 15 more round-trippers to extend the record to 138. He held the mark for 26 years until Babe Ruth surpassed his total in 1921.

In the collection is this letter written to Hall of Fame National League president William Hulbert. Dated October 12,1880 – just after the conclusion of Connor’s first MLB season – it is written by the owner of the Troy Trojans, Gardner Earl. The Trojans boasted five future members of the Hall of Fame on their roster that year, three hitters and two pitchers.

In addition to Connor, Troy had Dan Brouther who held the career homerun mark for two seasons starting in 1887, and Buck Ewing who was the finest catcher of the 1800s. Taking the mound for the Trojans in 1880 was a pair of eventual 300-game winners, Tim Keefe and Smiling Mickey Welch.

Letters from the 1800s with baseball content prove difficult to find. This one written by the owner of Roger Connor’s first big league team to a Hall of Fame pioneer represents a rare artifact.

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With Hall of Famer Harry Wright as their manager, the Boston Red Stockings faced the Troy Trojans on 9/29/1881 with Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe on the hill. In the collection is Wright’s scorecard from that day filled out entirely in his hand and initialed “HW” in the space provided to identify the scorekeeper. Along with Keefe who batted eighth in the Troy lineup is Roger Connor.

In 1881 Connor hit the first grand slam in big league history. Interestingly the hit was of the walk-off variety as Connor’s Troy Trojans beat the Worcester Ruby Legs 8-7. In 1895 Connor hit his 123rd homer to pass Harry Stovey and set a new career home run record. Connor would hold this mark for more than a quarter century until Babe Ruth passed him in 1921.

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Roger Connor is best remembered as Major League Baseball’s career home run leader from 1895-1920. He earned that distinction with his 123rd homer in 1895. The hit passed Harry Stovey who previously held the mark for 8 seasons.

Stovey and Connor each retired as the game’s all time home run leader. The only other men in baseball history to claim the distinction are Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds.

Shown here is a pair of Red Sox season passes issued to Stovey. The pass on top is from the final year of Bob Quinn’s stewardship of the Boston franchise in 1932. Quinn’s facsimile signature on the bottom right. Below that pass is one from the following season, the first year of Tom Yawkey’s 44-year reign as the Sox chief.

The story of Stovey’s career as well as his case for Cooperstown can be seen by clicking here. The link also shows the back of these passes that includes signatures of Stovey.

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Roger Connor broke Harry Stovey’s record for home runs in a career in 1895 and held it for the next 26 years. On July 18th, 1921 Babe Ruth slugged his 139th homer to pass Connor. Each of Ruth’s next 575 long balls extended his mark.

Ruth ended his career with 714 homers in all. When he retired in the top spot in 1935, he joined Stovey and Connor who also left the game as the record holders. Though the Bambino passed away in 1948 and held the record until Hank Aaron his his 715th home run in 1974.

Shown here is a photo of Ruth with his signature scrolled boldly across it. Much more on Ruth can be found by clicking here to see his page on the site.