The Heart-Warming Story of Hall of Fame Slugger Roger Connor and a Little Orphan Named Cecilia

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The Heart-Warming Story of Hall of Fame Slugger Roger Connor and a Little Orphan Named Cecilia

Not all that’s good about baseball happens on the diamond!

With all the “heavy writing” we do around here on Baseball History Comes Alive, it’s nice every once in a while to step back and simply enjoy a story that, while it has a baseball connection, has nothing to do with anything that happened between the white lines. And so we will today…

My essay last week on nineteenth-century home run king, Hall of Famer Roger Connor, caught the attention of my friend – and my resident White Sox expert – Bill Cunniff. Some of you may remember that in the essay I asked: Who are the only four players to hold the career major league lead in home runs? Three of them are easy: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds. What’s not so easy is whose record did Babe Ruth break? It was the largely forgotten nineteenth-century slugger, Roger Connor.

The question came to the forefront when Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record in 1974:

Although respected and well-liked, Roger Connor was by and large taken for granted by baseball fans and the sports media of his day, generally viewed as an accomplished but colorless professional. Once his playing career was over, the memory of Roger Connor did not linger in the game’s consciousness. Nor was Connor recognized when the Hall of Fame began to open its doors to the greats of his era.

If Aaron had just broken Babe Ruth’s career home-run record, whose record had Ruth broken? The answer to that question shined the spotlight on long-neglected Roger Connor. Two years later Connor received his due when ceremonies in Cooperstown included the belated but eminently deserved induction of Connor into the ranks of baseball’s immortals. (1)

Roger Connor held the home run record for 23 years with 138, until it was broken by Babe Ruth when the Bambino 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.

After reading my essay, Bill was interested in learning more about this overlooked star; and so he read the outstanding SABR biography of Roger Connor. Bill then called my attention to this heart-warming story from the life of Roger Connor, which occurred totally aside from his baseball career.

Roger Connor’s HOF Stats:

Connor was one of the premier sluggers from the nineteenth century. 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.

Conner was a huge man by the standards of the times at 6’3” and 200 pounds. While playing for the National League New York Gothams in 1888, the powerful slugger is responsible for the team adopting the name “Giants,” coined by manager Jim Multrie.

Back in 1880, Roger was an up-and-coming star for the Troy Trojans. Being a rather shy guy not known for his success with the fairer sex, he nonetheless had a rather propitious encounter with a pretty blond German seamstress named Angeline Mayer. According to Bill Lamb’s SABR biography:

Dispatched to a Troy shirt factory for individualized tailoring (as none of the available Trojan uniforms fit the outsized Connor), he was smitten during conversation with a comely blond seamstress who knew her baseball. But he was apparently too bashful to take matters further. Sometime thereafter, Connor found the courage to await the arrival of the seamstress at the factory entrance, hopeful that she would remember him. That hope was more than realized. Upon spotting him, Angeline smiled and exclaimed, “Hello, Roger Connor,” extending her hand to greet him. With that meeting, Connor had secured his life partner. He and Angeline wed in September 1881 and lived happily together for the next 47 years. (2)

Fast forward to 1886-‘87: Tragedy Strikes the Connor Family

By 1886, Roger was an acclaimed star. That year, he and his wife Angeline welcomed the arrival of a baby daughter who the couple named Lulu. However, their joy was short-lived. Tragedy struck the family late in the 1887 baseball season, as little Lulu contracted dysentery while on an August road trip with her parents. Sadly, she passed away in September, just short of her first birthday.

Needless to say, the loving parents were devastated. According to Roger Connor’s granddaughter, Margaret Colwell (as quoted by Bill Lamb), Roger always deemed Lulu’s death as divine retribution for having married outside the Catholic Church, as Angeline was a non-Catholic. (3)

The Grieving Connors Visit An Orphanage

Three years later, in 1890 – still not over the loss of little Lulu – Roger and Angeline were hoping again to add to their family. They visited a Catholic orphanage in New York, with the hope of finding a little girl to help them overcome their shared grief. What occurred next could only have been scripted in heaven. Read Bill Lamb’s moving account of what happened during their visit:

While there, Roger spotted a dark-haired little girl sitting alone, quietly singing to her doll. A nun related that her name was Cecilia and that she had recently been left on the doorstep with a note reading, “Born June 21, 1888.” When Roger stooped over and called to her, the child ran directly to him and threw her arms around his neck. And would not let go. Shortly thereafter, Roger and Angeline left the premises with a new daughter who would bring them much joy. (4)

I don’t know about you, but even though this beautiful story occurred 139 years ago, I still find it moving. I try to picture in my mind the joyous, tearful scene as the mourning father embraces the little abandoned orphan girl who would not let go of him. Roger, likewise, knew instantly that he had found a new daughter as he held her tightly in his massive arms.  What a beautiful moment!

The grateful couple looked upon little Cecilia as a gift from above and welcomed her into their family (I can’t help but call to mind the way today pet lovers visit an animal rescue shelter and leave with a new puppy!). In doing so, the Connors gave the little orphan a home – an opportunity to be raised by loving parents – something that she may otherwise never have experienced. She, in turn, brought much joy into their lives while helping them overcome their grief from the loss of baby Lulu.

I believe there’s a message somewhere in her for all of us, proving once again that not all that’s good about baseball occurs on the diamond. Often, something positive can arise amidst the ashes of unspeakable tragedy. God bless little Lulu, little Cecilia, and Roger and Angeline Connor.

Gary Livacari 

Thanks again to Bill Cunniff for calling this heart-warming story to my attention.

Notes:

(1) Roger Connor SABR Bioproject essay by Bill Lamb, which also served as the background source for this essay

(2) ibid

(3) ibid

(4) ibid

Stats from Baseball Reference.com, Roger Connor page

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