1919 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."
"Always be cautious about rookie performances in September. They don't indicate what will happen in April." - Texas Rangers General Manager Tom Grieve
American League Debuts

1919

n/a Norm McNeil 1919 Boston Red Sox 06-21-1919 26
n/a George Winn 1919 Boston Red Sox 04-29-1919 21
n/a Dickey Kerr 1919 Chicago White Sox 04-25-1919 25
n/a Harvey McClellan 1919 Chicago White Sox 05-31-1919 24
n/a Charlie Robertson 1919 Chicago White Sox 05-13-1919 23
n/a John Sullivan 1919 Chicago White Sox 07-19-1919 25
n/a Tony Faeth 1919 Cleveland Indians 08-10-1919 26
n/a Harry Lunte 1919 Cleveland Indians 05-19-1919 26
n/a George Uhle 1919 Cleveland Indians 04-30-1919 20
n/a Snooks Dowd 1919 Detroit Tigers 04-27-1919 21
n/a Frank Gleich 1919 New York Yankees 09-17-1919 25
n/a George Halas 1919 New York Yankees 05-06-1919 24
n/a Fred Hofmann 1919 New York Yankees 09-26-1919 25
n/a Luke Nelson 1919 New York Yankees 05-25-1919 25
n/a Lefty O'Doul 1919 New York Yankees 04-29-1919 22
n/a Curt Walker 1919 New York Yankees 09-17-1919 23
n/a Bob Allen 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 08-20-1919 24
n/a Dan Boone 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-10-1919 24
n/a Dick Burrus 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 06-23-1919 21
n/a Charlie Eckert 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-18-1919 22
n/a Art Ewoldt 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-17-1919 25
n/a Chick Galloway 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-09-1919 23
n/a Bill Grevell 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 05-14-1919 21
n/a Ivy Griffin 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-09-1919 22
n/a Lew Groh 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 08-02-1919 35
n/a Bob Hasty 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-11-1919 23
n/a Charlie High 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-05-1919 20
n/a Mike Kircher 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 08-08-1919 21
n/a Pat Martin 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-20-1919 27
n/a Ray Roberts 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-12-1919 24
n/a Lena Styles 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-10-1919 19
n/a Johnny Walker 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-19-1919 22
n/a Frank Welch 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-09-1919 22
n/a Al Wingo 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-09-1919 21
n/a Lefty York 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-12-1919 26
n/a Jimmy Zinn 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 09-04-1919 24
n/a Bill Bayne 1919 St. Louis Browns 09-20-1919 20
n/a Pat Collins 1919 St. Louis Browns 09-05-1919 22
n/a Hal Haid 1919 St. Louis Browns 09-05-1919 21
n/a Rolla Mapel 1919 St. Louis Browns 08-31-1919 29
n/a Gene Robertson 1919 St. Louis Browns 07-04-1919 19
n/a Joe Schepner 1919 St. Louis Browns 09-11-1919 24
n/a Elam Vangilder 1919 St. Louis Browns 09-18-1919 23
n/a Jesse Baker 1919 Washington Senators 09-14-1919 24
n/a Harry Courtney 1919 Washington Senators 09-13-1919 20
n/a Ike Davis 1919 Washington Senators 04-23-1919 23
n/a Frank Ellerbe 1919 Washington Senators 08-28-1919 23
n/a Clarence Fisher 1919 Washington Senators 09-14-1919 21
n/a Ed Gill 1919 Washington Senators 07-05-1919 23
n/a Bucky Harris 1919 Washington Senators 08-28-1919 22
n/a Frank Kelliher 1919 Washington Senators 09-19-1919 20
n/a Al Schacht 1919 Washington Senators 09-18-1919 26
n/a Danny Silva 1919 Washington Senators 08-11-1919 22
n/a Bill Snyder 1919 Washington Senators 09-14-1919 21
n/a Harry Thompson 1919 Washington Senators 04-24-1919 29
1919 American League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1919 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

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."

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.
     

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