Roger Connor Hits the First Grand Slam in National League History

On September 10, 1881, Roger Connor of the Troy Trojans came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, two outs, and his team trailing the Worcester Ruby Legs 7-4. He drove a pitch from Lee Richmond over the right-field fence, scoring all four runs and giving Troy an 8-7 victory. It was the first grand slam in National League history.

The game took place at Riverfront Park in Troy, New York. The crowd was small by later standards, as Troy was one of the National League's weakest markets and would lose its franchise after the 1882 season. But the fans who were there watched Connor deliver what remains one of the earliest recorded walk-off grand slams in professional baseball.

Connor was 23 years old and in his second full season. He stood six feet three inches tall and weighed 220 pounds at a time when most players were considerably smaller. He was one of the first true power hitters in the game's history. Before Babe Ruth redefined home run hitting in the 1920s, Connor held the career record with 138 home runs, a mark he set over 18 seasons that ended in 1897.

Richmond, the pitcher who surrendered the grand slam, had made his own history the previous year. On June 12, 1880, he threw the first perfect game in major league history, retiring all 27 Cleveland batters he faced. By September 1881, he was pitching for a Worcester team that would finish last in the National League.

Connor went on to play for the New York Giants, where he became one of the most popular players in New York City. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. The grand slam he hit at Riverfront Park on September 10, 1881, was a small piece of a career that shaped the way power hitting was understood in baseball's earliest years.