Waterbury Democrat., 1902-06-14
ROGER CoNNoR RETIREs.
The Big Chieftain Finally Decides to
 Forsake His Old Friend, Baseball.

Forsalze His Old Friend, Baseball.
 Roger Connor has announced his in- tention of retiring from active partlc- ipation in baseball play and will con tent himself with sitting on the bench and managing the team. What has caused the old chieftain to make this change he knows best himself. He was not all ill as ball player by any means and was playing as good ball as any of the men covering first base with perhaps one or two exceptions. Perhaps the little trouble he had over ill Meriden the other day had something to do with his retirement. and he made up his mind that he haz4 stood the brunt of the battle long enough and wanted a rest. Whatever was the cause. the Connecticut league loses good player and baseball in general loses d man whose name will go down in the history of baseball with every honor attached to it. For more than q quarter of century the name of Roger Connor has been known by every man, woman and child. For years he was the idol of the New York fans and later he be- came the ideal baseball player of smaller leagues. As the years ad- yanced Roger Connor lost some of his old hitting power and his popularity began to wane and even in his own town he was not treated as he should have been. It all proves that popu- larity, to be lasting, must give good returns to those who wish to make q man popular. He retires from the how scI,1,e of everybody, even those who were kind word of farewell to the man who never dIsgraced the diamond in his life and whose indiscretion of the oth- CT day has been overlooked, forgotten and forgiven.
 Manager Connor has had q great ca reer as a ball player, and he has also been successful as a manager. He was born i'll Waterbury, and in 1873 made his first public appearance with the Monitors of that city, an amateur team. He went to New Bedford in Io4S and played six weeks there in the New England league, in which Spring. fleid and Ho1yoke were then. He ! then Joined the Holyoke team. ana bic first game with that club was played on Hampden park. Connor says that ms hrst trip to Holyoke was made on little steamer on the river. On inc Springfield team i'll those days were Powers, Corcoran, Goldsmith. Crana
 Latham. O'Leary, Pike and Baker
 While Holyoke's team included Dor- gan, Smiling Mickey Welch. Giles pie, Fowl and Winchester. In 1879 Gonnor went to Holyoke again and mat season captained the team. The next year lie went to Troy. N. V in the National league, and stayed tbera till 1882 All this time he had been playing thrd base Tn thai season he hurt his shoulder and when in 1882 ] he went to New York to play in tha National league club there he found he couldn't throw well across the dia- mond and so went to first base. If was therefore accidentally that one of the best first basement the country has seen was made. From 1883 until 1892 Connor played first base for the 1 Giants and made a national reputa ton for himself.
 Tn 1855 he signed three years con tract with s5illy'' Barnie of the Phil. adelphias in the American association. but when the baseball war was over he went back to New York, having been traded for Catcher Boyle and Pitcher Sharrott. Connor remained part of the season of 1894 with New York and then went to St Louis. where he played till 1897. In the lat ter part of that season he quit St Louis and came home to Waterbury. He soon went to Fall River and l played for six weeks with that club in the New England league He then joined Waterbury, with which team he was connected until he sold the franchise, July 15, 1901. He finished the season with New Haven He be- came manager of the Waterbury team in 1897. Tn 1898 his team won the Connecticut league championship. Tn 1899 Waterbury had to take second place, Connor saying that he would have won the. pennant but for Spring fields players helping New Haven out In 1900 Connor's team was leading, when, in July, two of his pitchers were laid up with injuries