1927 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."

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"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)

1927 National League Debuts

1927 N.L. Rookies | 1927 A.L. Rookies | Baseball Firsts (All Years)

n/a Earl Clark 1927 Boston Braves 08-17-1927 19
n/a Sid Graves 1927 Boston Braves 07-23-1927 25
n/a Dinny McNamara 1927 Boston Braves 07-02-1927 21
n/a Art Mills 1927 Boston Braves 04-16-1927 24
n/a Guy Morrison 1927 Boston Braves 08-31-1927 32
n/a Luke Urban 1927 Boston Braves 07-19-1927 29
n/a Jay Partridge 1927 Brooklyn Robins 04-12-1927 24
n/a Overton Tremper 1927 Brooklyn Robins 06-16-1927 21
n/a Woody English 1927 Chicago Cubs 04-26-1927 21
n/a Hank Grampp 1927 Chicago Cubs 06-21-1927 23
n/a Tommy Sewell 1927 Chicago Cubs 06-21-1927 21
n/a Harry Wilke 1927 Chicago Cubs 05-12-1927 26
n/a Pete Appleton 1927 Cincinnati Reds 09-14-1927 23
n/a Jim Beckman 1927 Cincinnati Reds 07-27-1927 22
n/a Jack White 1927 Cincinnati Reds 06-22-1927 21
n/a Ray Wolf 1927 Cincinnati Reds 07-27-1927 23
n/a Hank Boney 1927 New York Giants 06-28-1927 23
n/a Ben Cantwell 1927 New York Giants 08-19-1927 25
n/a Bill Clarkson 1927 New York Giants 05-02-1927 28
n/a Jim Faulkner 1927 New York Giants 09-15-1927 28
n/a Art Johnson 1927 New York Giants 09-18-1927 30
n/a Buck Jordan 1927 New York Giants 09-15-1927 20
n/a Joe Klinger 1927 New York Giants 09-13-1927 25
n/a Andy Reese 1927 New York Giants 04-15-1927 23
n/a Red Smith 1927 New York Giants 05-31-1927 23
n/a Fay Thomas 1927 New York Giants 06-27-1927 23
n/a Bill Walker 1927 New York Giants 09-13-1927 23
n/a Henry Baldwin 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 05-22-1927 32
n/a Bill Deitrick 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 09-19-1927 25
n/a Bill Hohman 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 08-24-1927 23
n/a Russ Miller 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 09-24-1927 27
n/a Harry O'Donnell 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 04-30-1927 33
n/a Dick Spalding 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 04-18-1927 33
n/a Les Sweetland 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 07-04-1927 25
n/a Augie Walsh 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 10-02-1927 23
n/a Dick Bartell 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates 10-02-1927 19
n/a Herman Layne 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates 04-16-1927 26
n/a Red Peery 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates 09-22-1927 21
n/a Lloyd Waner 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates 04-12-1927 21
n/a Fred Frankhouse 1927 St. Louis Cardinals 09-07-1927 23
n/a Carlisle Littlejohn 1927 St. Louis Cardinals 05-11-1927 25
n/a Ernie Orsatti 1927 St. Louis Cardinals 09-04-1927 24
n/a Homer Peel 1927 St. Louis Cardinals 09-13-1927 24
n/a Wally Roettger 1927 St. Louis Cardinals 05-01-1927 24
n/a Heinie Schuble 1927 St. Louis Cardinals 07-08-1927 20
1927 National League Debuts
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baseball almanac fast facts

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the National League during the 1927 season as this group of players made their Major League debut!

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?

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.