It almost feels like Babe Ruth was always the all time home run king until Hank Aaron came along. However, until this day in 1921, the New York Yankees star was not the record holder.
When looking back in MLB history, it is hard to envision a time where Babe Ruth was not the all time home run leader before Hank Aaron took the crown away. However, until 1921, the crown was held by 1800’s slugger, and eventual Hall of Famer, Roger Connor.
With 119 home runs, Connor was considered a “demon batsman,” a player whose power was without compare. Then Ruth came into the league, turning the rare home run into a much more commonplace event. Even though he had started his career as a pitcher, Ruth rapidly climbed the home run ranks, making it a matter of time before he would pass The Swat King.
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That happened on this day in 1921. With the New York Yankees facing the Cleveland Indians and pitcher Jim Bagby, Ruth lofted a third inning offering into the seats, hitting his 120th career homer to break Connor’s record. From that point, Ruth sprinted far ahead of the 1800’s star, and would not stop until he hit 714 home runs. It’s hard to imagine a record being shattered by almost 600 of anything, yet Ruth did just that in homers.
Unfortunately, with Ruth’s greatness, and the upcoming power surge that would occur in baseball, Connor’s career became forgotten. It took until 1976 for Connor to be inducted into the Hall, almost 80 years after his career ended. Yet, his impressive career, especially given the context of the shorter seasons of the 1880’s, was quite impressive.
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It was just a matter of time before New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth would pass Roger Connor on the all time home run list. That inevitability happened on this day in 1921.