1887 American Association Baseball Debuts / Rookies by Baseball Almanac

1887 American Association 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 a certain amount of fascination to the big league debut of any athlete. Sometimes they are incredible successes. Sometimes they are frenetic failures." - Sportswriter Arthur Daley

American Association Debuts 1887
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
n/a	Law Daniels	1887 Baltimore Orioles	04-25-1887	24
n/a	Bill Gardner	1887 Baltimore Orioles	08-09-1887	20
n/a	Mike Griffin	1887 Baltimore Orioles	04-16-1887	22
n/a	Bob Keating	1887 Baltimore Orioles	08-27-1887	24
n/a	Lev Shreve	1887 Baltimore Orioles	05-02-1887	18
n/a	Tommy Tucker	1887 Baltimore Orioles	04-16-1887	23
n/a	Bert Cunningham	1887 Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers	09-15-1887	21
n/a	Billy Otterson	1887 Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers	09-04-1887	25
n/a	Heinie Kappel	1887 Cincinnati Red Stockings	05-22-1887	0
n/a	Jack O'Connor	1887 Cincinnati Red Stockings	04-20-1887	17
n/a	Mike Shea	1887 Cincinnati Red Stockings	04-20-1887	20
n/a	George Tebeau	1887 Cincinnati Red Stockings	04-16-1887	25
n/a	Mother Watson	1887 Cincinnati Red Stockings	05-19-1887	22
n/a	Wild Bill Widner	1887 Cincinnati Red Stockings	06-08-1887	20
n/a	Billy Crowell	1887 Cleveland Blues	04-20-1887	21
n/a	Ed Flynn	1887 Cleveland Blues	05-05-1887	23
n/a	Bob Gilks	1887 Cleveland Blues	08-25-1887	23
n/a	Joe Herr	1887 Cleveland Blues	04-16-1887	22
n/a	Ed McKean	1887 Cleveland Blues	04-16-1887	22
n/a	Mike Morrison	1887 Cleveland Blues	04-19-1887	20
n/a	John Munyan	1887 Cleveland Blues	07-12-1887	26
n/a	Frank Scheibeck	1887 Cleveland Blues	05-09-1887	21
n/a	Hank Simon	1887 Cleveland Blues	10-07-1887	25
n/a	Jim Toy	1887 Cleveland Blues	04-20-1887	29
n/a	Lave Cross	1887 Louisville Colonels	04-23-1887	20
n/a	Ducky Hemp	1887 Louisville Colonels	10-06-1887	24
n/a	Bill Collins	1887 New York Metropolitans	10-05-1887	24
n/a	Bill Fagan	1887 New York Metropolitans	09-15-1887	18
n/a	Charlie Hall	1887 New York Metropolitans	05-03-1887	23
n/a	George McMullen	1887 New York Metropolitans	07-02-1887	0
n/a	Darby O'Brien	1887 New York Metropolitans	04-16-1887	23
n/a	Fred O'Neill	1887 New York Metropolitans	05-03-1887	22
n/a	Cyclone Ryan	1887 New York Metropolitans	08-08-1887	0
n/a	Pete Sommers	1887 New York Metropolitans	04-27-1887	20
n/a	Tommy Casey	1887 Philadelphia Athletics	08-17-1887	0
n/a	Fred Chapman	1887 Philadelphia Athletics	07-22-1887	14
n/a	Ed Flanagan	1887 Philadelphia Athletics	04-16-1887	25
n/a	George Townsend	1887 Philadelphia Athletics	06-25-1887	20
n/a	Gus Weyhing	1887 Philadelphia Athletics	05-02-1887	20
n/a	Mike Goodfellow	1887 St. Louis Browns	06-13-1887	20
#	Name (sort)	Team (sort)	Debut (sort)	Age (sort)
1887 American Association Debuts

1887 N.L. Debuts

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the American Association during the 1887 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.

Five-for-five debuts? Believe it or not it has happened twice: On June 30, 1894 Fred Clarke of the Louisville Colonels and on May 16, 1933, Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators made their Major League debuts and both went five-for-five at the plate.

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