1906 American League Debuts

Willie Mays played his first Major League game on May 25, 1951, and went 0-for-5 at the plate. He started his career 1-for-25 and told his manager, "I can't do it, Mr. Leo. You better bench me."

Casey Stengel played his first Major League game on July 27, 1912, and went 4-for-4 at the plate. He commented later in his life, "I broke in with four hits and the writers promptly decided they had seen the new Ty Cobb. It took me only a few days to correct that impression."

Both Mays and Stengel would continue their Major League careers down separate paths of greatness, but each still had to appear in that memorable first Major League game. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present what Cubs broadcaster Steve Stone once described as, "His first Major League debut."
"There is no Major League record held by a rookie. It's revealing to see just how far the rookie marks are below the single season marks. This is a testament to how difficult the game is to learn and play." - Luke Salisbury in The Answer is Baseball (1989)
American League Debuts

1906

n/a Art Brouthers 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 04-14-1906 23
n/a Pat Duff 1906 Washington Senators 04-16-1906 30
n/a Charlie Graham 1906 Boston Americans 04-16-1906 27
n/a Roy Hartzell 1906 St. Louis Browns 04-17-1906 24
n/a Frank Hemphill 1906 Chicago White Sox 04-17-1906 27
n/a Lou Nordyke 1906 St. Louis Browns 04-18-1906 29
n/a Bob Peterson 1906 Boston Americans 04-18-1906 21
n/a Jim Byrnes 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 04-19-1906 26
n/a Jack Hannifin 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 04-19-1906 23
n/a Con Starkel 1906 Washington Senators 04-19-1906 25
n/a Fred Payne 1906 Detroit Tigers 04-21-1906 25
n/a Harry Eells 1906 Cleveland Naps 04-22-1906 26
n/a Bill Shipke 1906 Cleveland Naps 04-23-1906 23
n/a Harry Niles 1906 St. Louis Browns 04-24-1906 25
n/a Ed Smith 1906 St. Louis Browns 04-27-1906 27
n/a Harry Armbruster 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 04-30-1906 24
n/a Boss Schmidt 1906 Detroit Tigers 04-30-1906 25
n/a Lou Fiene 1906 Chicago White Sox 05-07-1906 21
n/a Ira Thomas 1906 New York Highlanders 05-18-1906 25
n/a Dave Altizer 1906 Washington Senators 05-29-1906 29
n/a Ralph Glaze 1906 Boston Americans 06-01-1906 24
n/a Red Morgan 1906 Boston Americans 06-20-1906 22
n/a Jack Hoey 1906 Boston Americans 06-27-1906 24
n/a Jack Coombs 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 07-05-1906 23
n/a Bill Carrigan 1906 Boston Americans 07-07-1906 22
n/a Babe Towne 1906 Chicago White Sox 08-01-1906 26
n/a Ed Lennox 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 08-08-1906 22
n/a Warren Shanabrook 1906 Washington Senators 08-13-1906 25
n/a Ben Caffyn 1906 Cleveland Naps 08-21-1906 27
n/a Slow Joe Doyle 1906 New York Highlanders 08-25-1906 24
n/a Cy Barger 1906 New York Highlanders 08-30-1906 21
n/a Mike Cunningham 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 08-31-1906 24
n/a Willy Fetzer 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 09-04-1906 22
n/a Ed Willett 1906 Detroit Tigers 09-05-1906 22
n/a Jack Rowan 1906 Detroit Tigers 09-06-1906 20
n/a Jim Holmes 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 09-08-1906 24
n/a Dave Shean 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 09-10-1906 23
n/a Joe Birmingham 1906 Cleveland Naps 09-12-1906 22
n/a Hack Schumann 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 09-12-1906 22
n/a Bob Edmundson 1906 Washington Senators 09-15-1906 27
n/a Chet Chadbourne 1906 Boston Americans 09-17-1906 21
n/a Eddie Collins 1906 Philadelphia Athletics 09-17-1906 19
n/a Clyde Goodwin 1906 Washington Senators 09-18-1906 19
n/a Tom Hughes 1906 New York Highlanders 09-18-1906 22
n/a Frank Oberlin 1906 Boston Americans 09-20-1906 30
n/a Rube Kroh 1906 Boston Americans 09-30-1906 20
n/a Lee Quillin 1906 Chicago White Sox 09-30-1906 24
n/a Glenn Liebhardt 1906 Cleveland Naps 10-02-1906 23
n/a Willy Wilson 1906 Washington Senators 10-03-1906 22
n/a Gus Hetling 1906 Detroit Tigers 10-06-1906 20
1906 American League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1906 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

Ray Jansen (four for five in his first game), Aubrey Epps (three for four in his first game) and Ed Irvin (two for three in his first game) all finished their career with lifetime batting averages which were greater than their career fielding percentages.

Did you know that Future hall of famer Addie Joss made his Major League pitching debut on April 26, 1902 and tossed a one hitter?
     

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