1943 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."
"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)
National League Debuts

1943

14 Joe Burns 1943 Boston Braves 04-24-1943 26
26 Ben Cardoni 1943 Boston Braves 08-22-1943 23
17 Connie Creeden 1943 Boston Braves 04-28-1943 27
- John Dagenhard 1943 Boston Braves 09-28-1943 26
- Buck Etchison 1943 Boston Braves 09-22-1943 28
9 Kerby Farrell 1943 Boston Braves 04-24-1943 29
35 Sam Gentile 1943 Boston Braves 04-24-1943 26
8 Heinie Heltzel 1943 Boston Braves 07-27-1943 29
- Carl Lindquist 1943 Boston Braves 09-27-1943 24
35 Ray Martin 1943 Boston Braves 08-15-1943 18
29 Butch Nieman 1943 Boston Braves 05-02-1943 25
34 Dave Odom 1943 Boston Braves 05-31-1943 24
- Roy Talcott 1943 Boston Braves 06-24-1943 23
12 Rex Barney 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 08-18-1943 18
3 Boyd Bartley 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 05-30-1943 23
3 Al Campanis 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 09-23-1943 26
28 Hal Gregg 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 08-18-1943 22
9 Bill Hart 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 09-18-1943 30
14 Chris Haughey 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 10-03-1943 18
14 Gene Hermanski 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 08-15-1943 23
4 Gil Hodges 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 10-03-1943 19
21 Luis Olmo 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 07-23-1943 23
6 Hal Peck 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 05-13-1943 26
8 Howie Schultz 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 08-16-1943 21
31 Dale Alderson 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-18-1943 25
24 Heinz Becker 1943 Chicago Cubs 04-21-1943 27
8 Pete Elko 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-17-1943 25
12 Billy Holm 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-24-1943 31
20 Don Johnson 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-26-1943 31
11 Mickey Kreitner 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-28-1943 20
47 Johnny Ostrowski 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-24-1943 25
33 Andy Pafko 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-24-1943 22
24 Ed Sauer 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-17-1943 24
50 Walter Signer 1943 Chicago Cubs 09-18-1943 32
25 Eddie Stanky 1943 Chicago Cubs 04-21-1943 27
19 Charlie Brewster 1943 Cincinnati Reds 05-02-1943 26
20 Dain Clay 1943 Cincinnati Reds 06-12-1943 23
6 Tony DePhillips 1943 Cincinnati Reds 04-25-1943 30
22 Lonnie Goldstein 1943 Cincinnati Reds 09-11-1943 25
38 Bob Malloy 1943 Cincinnati Reds 05-04-1943 24
29 Jack Niemes 1943 Cincinnati Reds 05-30-1943 23
39 Rocky Stone 1943 Cincinnati Reds 05-02-1943 24
29 Vic Bradford 1943 New York Giants 05-01-1943 28
18 Buddy Kerr 1943 New York Giants 09-08-1943 20
22 Charlie Mead 1943 New York Giants 08-28-1943 22
29 Hugh Poland 1943 New York Giants 04-22-1943 33
21, 23 Nap Reyes 1943 New York Giants 05-19-1943 23
28 Frank Seward 1943 New York Giants 09-28-1943 22
25 Joe Stephenson 1943 New York Giants 09-19-1943 22
19 Ken Trinkle 1943 New York Giants 04-25-1943 23
25 Garton Del Savio 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 04-24-1943 29
- Deacon Donahue 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 09-16-1943 23
21, 18 George Eyrich 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 06-13-1943 18
15 Bob Finley 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 07-04-1943 27
6, 11 Al Gerheauser 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 04-24-1943 25
20 Ray Hamrick 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 08-14-1943 22
16 Jack Kraus 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 04-25-1943 24
25, 12 Dale Matthewson 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 07-03-1943 20
17 Rogers McKee 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 08-18-1943 16
15 Andy Seminick 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 09-14-1943 23
20 Bill Webb 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 05-15-1943 29
22 Hank Camelli 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates 10-03-1943 28
23 Cookie Cuccurullo 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates 10-03-1943 25
11, 26 Tommy O'Brien 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates 04-24-1943 24
2 Tony Ordenana 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates 10-03-1943 24
4 Xavier Rescigno 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates 04-22-1943 30
11 Al Brazle 1943 St. Louis Cardinals 07-25-1943 29
27 Bud Byerly 1943 St. Louis Cardinals 09-26-1943 22
2 Lou Klein 1943 St. Louis Cardinals 04-21-1943 24
18 Red Munger 1943 St. Louis Cardinals 05-01-1943 24
1943 National League Debuts


 

Find out which players bid farewell to their field's of dreams in the National League during the 1943 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.
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