1939 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

1939

15 Woody Rich 1939 Boston Red Sox 04-22-1939 23
17 Bill Sayles 1939 Boston Red Sox 07-17-1939 21
9 Ted Williams 1939 Boston Red Sox 04-20-1939 20
48 Jess Dobernic 1939 Chicago White Sox 07-02-1939 21
2 Bob Kennedy 1939 Chicago White Sox 09-14-1939 19
14 Ken Silvestri 1939 Chicago White Sox 04-18-1939 22
17 Joe Dobson 1939 Cleveland Indians 04-26-1939 22
29 Tom Drake 1939 Cleveland Indians 04-24-1939 26
30 Mike Naymick 1939 Cleveland Indians 09-24-1939 22
32 Jim Shilling 1939 Cleveland Indians 04-21-1939 24
31 Floyd Stromme 1939 Cleveland Indians 07-05-1939 22
30 Lefty Sullivan 1939 Cleveland Indians 05-06-1939 22
3 Frank Croucher 1939 Detroit Tigers 04-18-1939 24
20 Les Fleming 1939 Detroit Tigers 04-22-1939 23
29 Floyd Giebell 1939 Detroit Tigers 04-21-1939 29
18 Fred Hutchinson 1939 Detroit Tigers 05-02-1939 19
27 Red Lynn 1939 Detroit Tigers 04-25-1939 25
21 Barney McCosky 1939 Detroit Tigers 04-18-1939 22
16 Hal Newhouser 1939 Detroit Tigers 09-29-1939 18
8 Dixie Parsons 1939 Detroit Tigers 08-16-1939 23
15 Dizzy Trout 1939 Detroit Tigers 04-25-1939 23
24 Marv Breuer 1939 New York Yankees 05-04-1939 25
27 Joe Gallagher 1939 New York Yankees 04-20-1939 25
9 Charlie Keller 1939 New York Yankees 04-22-1939 22
26 Buddy Rosar 1939 New York Yankees 04-29-1939 24
22 Marius Russo 1939 New York Yankees 06-06-1939 24
35 Bill Beckmann 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 05-02-1939 31
6 Al Brancato 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 09-07-1939 20
25 Fred Chapman 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 09-15-1939 23
26 Eddie Collins 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 07-04-1939 22
12 Joe Gantenbein 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 04-20-1939 22
15 Bob Joyce 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 05-04-1939 24
3 Bill Lillard 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 09-11-1939 21
31 Les McCrabb 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 09-07-1939 24
23 Bob McNamara 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 05-27-1939 22
34 Bill Nagel 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 04-20-1939 23
30, 36 Harry O'Neill 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 07-23-1939 22
20 Sam Page 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 09-11-1939 23
21 Jim Schelle 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 07-23-1939 22
18 Eric Tipton 1939 Philadelphia Athletics 06-09-1939 24
8, 14 Johnny Berardino 1939 St. Louis Browns 04-22-1939 21
- Loy Hanning 1939 St. Louis Browns 09-20-1939 21
30 Jack Kramer 1939 St. Louis Browns 04-25-1939 21
- Bob Neighbors 1939 St. Louis Browns 09-16-1939 21
9 Ewald Pyle 1939 St. Louis Browns 04-23-1939 28
25, 31 Hal Spindel 1939 St. Louis Browns 04-23-1939 25
40 Morrie Aderholt 1939 Washington Senators 09-13-1939 24
- Dick Bass 1939 Washington Senators 09-21-1939 33
14 Alex Carrasquel 1939 Washington Senators 04-23-1939 26
9 Jake Early 1939 Washington Senators 05-04-1939 23
43 Al Evans 1939 Washington Senators 09-13-1939 22
34 Elmer Gedeon 1939 Washington Senators 09-18-1939 22
19 Joe Haynes 1939 Washington Senators 04-24-1939 21
50 Bill Holland 1939 Washington Senators 09-17-1939 24
10 Ed Leip 1939 Washington Senators 09-16-1939 28
17 Bob Loane 1939 Washington Senators 07-29-1939 24
33 Walt Masterson 1939 Washington Senators 05-08-1939 18
35 Mike Palagyi 1939 Washington Senators 08-18-1939 22
17 Bob Prichard 1939 Washington Senators 06-14-1939 21
39 Hal Quick 1939 Washington Senators 09-07-1939 21
44 Lou Thuman 1939 Washington Senators 09-08-1939 22
34 Mickey Vernon 1939 Washington Senators 07-08-1939 21
24 Johnny Welaj 1939 Washington Senators 05-02-1939 24
44 Early Wynn 1939 Washington Senators 09-13-1939 19
1939 American League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American League during the 1939 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."

On the final day of the 1930 season, Dizzy Dean was called up and pitched a three-hitter. In Spring Training the following year, Dean had a fight with catcher Gabby Street and the franchise left him in the Minor Leagues all season long.
     

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