Forgotten Giant Great, Roger Connor, Should Be On the Outfield Wall at AT&T Park

In today's SJ Mercury newspaper article about Barry Bonds tying Hank Aaron's National League career homerun record, it was noted that Barry was the third Giant to have held this record, joining the great Mel Ott and Willie Mays. This is incorrect, he is the fourth Giants player to have held the record.

The Forgotten Giant Great, Roger Connor

As I have noted a number of time, Roger Connor, a Hall of Famer who spent the majority of his career with the Giants, actually held the record briefly from 1893 to 1895 (based on my research; he held the MLB career record much longer, finally being passed by Babe Ruth in 1920). I wrote a post about him here, a post about the NL career record here and my original article about this record, which I wrote about two years ago and linked to yesterday, is here.

It is a shame that he is forgotten. As I noted in my article, he was the first big homerun hitter - as evidenced by his holding of the MLB career record until Babe Ruth passed him - and one of the original Giants whose size compeled the sportswriters of their day to give them the nickname "Giants". He was 6' 3" at a time when men on average were much shorter than today (probably around 5' 6" or shorter) because of poor eating habits and the lack of abundant food.

Connor Should Be Honored On Outfield Wall Like Other Giants Greats

He should really be on the outfield wall at AT&T Park, next to the other past Giants greats, like John McGraw and Christy Mathewson. He was a player who contributed to the Giants nickname. He was a leader on the early Giants teams. He held the MLB career homerun lead until Babe Ruth passed him up. And lastly, he was a Hall of Famer for his feats. He deserves a spot on the wall as much as any player currently on there.