 Throughout his career, McConnell was known to have the odd hobby of collecting pins.When he was in the middle of a batting slump, he would scavenge the streets and pick up any pin he found, believing this was a sign he would break out of the slump.McConnell departed the Dalton team in and began to play organized baseball for semi-pro teams in Rutland, Vermont, and Beloit, Wisconsin, in the following season.