Former Cubs pilot Joe McCarthy makes his debut as Yankee manager, beating Boston at the Bronx ballpark, 6-3. The future Hall of Fame manager, who is the team’s all-time leader in managerial wins with 1460, guides the club to eight pennants and seven World Championships during his 16-year tenure in the Bronx.
Earl Averill of the Cleveland Indians becomes the first American League player to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat when he blasts an 0-and-2 pitch by Detroit Tigers pitcher Earl Whitehill in the Indians’ 5 – 4, 11-inning victory.
In his major league debut, White Sox rookie Ed Weiland shuts out the A’s at Comiskey Park, 1-0. The 6’4″ fireballer from Chicago will finish his four year tenure with his hometown team, compiling a 5-15 record before being traded to the Red Sox in 1932.
Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker both start on Opening Day for the A’s. The 8-3 loss to New York at Shibe Park marks the first time the future Hall of Famers have played as teammates in a game.
The Indians spoil the White Sox debut at the newly-expanded Comiskey Park, edging the Pale Hose, 5-4. The new upper deck in the outfield allows 23,200 additional fans to enjoy the game.
Legendary pitcher Satchel Paige makes his debut in the Negro Southern League. Paige, at 19 years of age, leads Chattanooga to a 5 – 4 win over Birmingham.
1926 – 17-year-old Mel Ott makes his first major league appearance with the New York Giants pinch-hitting for Jimmy Ring. Ott strikes out as the Giants win, 9 – 8, over the Phillies. He won’t play regularly until 1927.
1925 – Marv Goodwin, a former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who joined the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the season, is killed in a plane he is piloting. At age 34, Goodwin is the first active player to die from injuries sustained in an airplane crash. Goodwin was one of the original spitballers who was “grandfathered.”
Two future Hall of Famers make their major league debuts with the Philadelphia Athletics in the same game. Lefty Grove starts against the Boston Red Sox and leaves in the 4th inning after walking four and striking out nobody. He gives up five runs on six hits. In the 8th inning, Mickey Cochrane pinch-hits a single, while the Athletics go on to score nine runs in the last four innings to win, 9 – 8, in ten innings. Grove, known as Groves in Baltimore, is also listed that way in the New York Times box score. Grove will become the first pitcher to lead the American League in strikeouts and walks in the same year.
VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA Vintage Baseball Memorabilia September 22, 1924 At Navin Field, Charlie Gehringer makes his debut as a defensive replacement in a Tigers 9-1 win over the Red Sox. He fields two balls cleanly and turns a double play. Gehringer’s first manager was Ty Cobb, who treated the youngster as if he didn’t exist….
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