1916 National 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."
"You never forget your first hit in the Major Leagues. It was in my third at bat. That was kind of a relief. You could start off 0-for-34." - Ralph Kiner
National League Debuts

1916

n/a Fred Bailey 1916 Boston Braves 08-19-1916 21
n/a Art Rico 1916 Boston Braves 07-31-1916 21
n/a Joe Wilhoit 1916 Boston Braves 04-12-1916 30
n/a Artie Dede 1916 Brooklyn Robins 10-04-1916 21
n/a Bunny Fabrique 1916 Brooklyn Robins 10-04-1916 28
n/a Hack Miller 1916 Brooklyn Robins 09-22-1916 22
n/a Johnny O'Connor 1916 Chicago Cubs 09-16-1916 24
n/a Marty Shay 1916 Chicago Cubs 09-16-1916 20
n/a Ed Sicking 1916 Chicago Cubs 08-26-1916 19
n/a Earl Smith 1916 Chicago Cubs 09-10-1916 25
n/a Chuck Wortman 1916 Chicago Cubs 07-20-1916 24
n/a Frank Emmer 1916 Cincinnati Reds 04-25-1916 20
n/a Greasy Neale 1916 Cincinnati Reds 04-12-1916 24
n/a Paul Smith 1916 Cincinnati Reds 09-19-1916 28
n/a Twink Twining 1916 Cincinnati Reds 07-09-1916 22
n/a Herb Hunter 1916 New York Giants 04-29-1916 20
n/a Duke Kelleher 1916 New York Giants 08-18-1916 22
n/a Jose Rodriguez 1916 New York Giants 10-05-1916 22
n/a George Smith 1916 New York Giants 08-09-1916 24
n/a Heinie Stafford 1916 New York Giants 10-05-1916 24
n/a Gary Fortune 1916 Philadelphia Phillies 10-05-1916 21
n/a Bob Gandy 1916 Philadelphia Phillies 10-05-1916 23
n/a Jesse Altenburg 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-19-1916 23
n/a Bill Batsch 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-09-1916 24
n/a Carson Bigbee 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 08-24-1916 21
n/a Paul Carpenter 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 07-26-1916 21
n/a Bill Evans 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 08-13-1916 23
n/a Jack Farmer 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 07-08-1916 23
n/a Wilbur Fisher 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 06-13-1916 21
n/a Billy Gleason 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-25-1916 22
n/a Burleigh Grimes 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-10-1916 23
n/a Newt Halliday 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 08-19-1916 20
n/a Lee King 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-20-1916 23
n/a Gene Madden 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 04-20-1916 25
n/a Ray O'Brien 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 06-27-1916 21
n/a Walter Schmidt 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 04-13-1916 29
n/a Jack Scott 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-06-1916 24
n/a Frank Smykal 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 08-30-1916 26
n/a Hooks Warner 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates 08-21-1916 22
n/a Sam Bohne 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 09-09-1916 19
n/a Tony Brottem 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 04-17-1916 24
n/a Murphy Currie 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 08-31-1916 23
n/a Joe Lotz 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 07-15-1916 25
n/a Bob Steele 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 04-17-1916 22
n/a Stuffy Stewart 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 09-03-1916 22
n/a Cy Warmoth 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 08-31-1916 23
n/a Milt Watson 1916 St. Louis Cardinals 07-26-1916 26
1916 National League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the National League during the 1916 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

On April 13, 1954, Hank Aaron made his Major League debut and went 0-for-5. However, in his own autobiography Aaron wrote that he went 0-for-4.

When Christy Mathewson made his Major League debut the newspaper wrote, "The untried semi-professional possessed great speed and plenty of confidence in himself, but could not control his curves."
     

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