| Year |
FIRST / LAST |
| 1926 |
April 27: Mel Ott strikes out in his FIRST major league at bat. |
| 1927 |
July 27: Mel Ott hits the FIRST of his 511 career home runs. It was an inside the park homer and the only one he would ever hit. |
| 1928 |
July 26: Carl Hubbell plays in his FIRST big league game. He pitches a scoreless first inning but the Pirates run him out in the 2nd inning with 5 runs. He gets the loss. Sixteen days later he gets his FIRST victory, a 4-0 shutout over the Phillies. |
| 1928 |
September 3: Ty Cobb makes the LAST of his 4,191 hits of his career as he gets a pinch hit double off Senators pitcher Bump Hadley at Washington. |
| 1928 |
September 11: Ty Cobb makes his LAST appearance as a batter, popping out against Yankee pitcher Hank Johnson to shortstop Mark Koenig as a pinch hitter in the 9th. |
| 1929 |
May 11: The Indians and the Yankees became the FIRST teams to both wear numbered uniforms in a major league game. Two years later the American League makes numbered uniforms mandatory for all teams. As for the game, the Indians won 4-3. |
| 1929 |
August 10: Grover Cleveland Alexander beats the Phillies 7-1 for his 373rd and LAST victory. |
| 1930 |
May 28: Philadelphia's Grover Cleveland Alexander makes his LAST major league appearance giving up 2 hits and 2 runs in relief as the Braves win 5-1. |
| 1930 |
September 12: Brooklyn's Al Lopaz drives one over the head of Reds left fielder Bob Meusal, and the ball bounces into the bleachers at Ebbets Field. It will be the LAST recorded bounce home run to be hit in the majors, thus the ground rule double. |
| 1930 |
September 28: Dizzy Dean pitches in his FIRST major league game. He gives up one unearned run, 3 hits and gets 5 strikeouts in defeating the Pirates 3-1. At the plate, he singles and scores a run. |
| 1931 |
April 15: Ernie Lombardi plays in his FIRST big league game relieving catcher Al Lopez for Brooklyn against the Red Sox. Lombardi gets 2 hits off of Harry Siebold. |
| 1931 |
September 7: Van Mungo pitches his FIRST big league game and is also a hitting star. The Brooklyn hurler beats Tom Zachary and the Braves 2-0. He allows only 3 hits and fans 12 batters. At the plate, he singles and triples and drives in both runs. |
| 1934 |
June 8: A few members of the Cincinnati Reds fly to a game in Chicago from St. Louis, the FIRST major league team to travel together by air. Only 6 players opt for the train ride. |
| 1934 |
September 29: Babe Ruth hits home run number 22, his LAST home run as a Yankee as they split a doubleheader with the Senators in Washington. The next day he plays his LAST game in a Yankee uniform and goes hitless. |
| 1935 |
May 25: Babe Ruth hits 3 home runs including number 714, his LAST big league round tripper. The final blast comes against Pirate pitcher Guy Bush. Ruth's 4 hits and 6 RBI's arent enough as the Pirates beat the Braves 11-7. |
| 1935 |
May 30: Babe Ruth makes his LAST appearance of his career in a game against the Phillies. He injures his knee in the first inning and leaves the game. Two days later he announces his retirement. |
| 1936 |
April 16: Johnny Mize strikes out in his FIRST major league at bat. |
| 1936 |
May 3: Joe DiMaggio plays in his FIRST big league game. He goes 3 for 6, including a triple as the Yankees squash the Browns 14-5. |
| 1936 |
May 10: Joe DiMaggio hits his FIRST career home run in a 7-2 win over the A's at Yankee Stadium. |
| 1936 |
July 19: Indians pitcher Bob Feller pitches in his FIRST game in the big leagues. He pitches the 8th inning against Washington, allowing no hits and fanning one. |
| 1936 |
August 23: Bob Feller makes his FIRST start and strikes out 15 Browns in a 4-1 Indians win. |
| 1937 |
June 25: Cubs switch hitter Augie Galan becomes the FIRST NL player to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game as the Cubs beat Brooklyn 11-2. |
| 1938 |
August 20: Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd and LAST career grand slam off A's pitcher Buck Ross in an 11-3 Yankee win. |
| 1939 |
July 4: Lou Gehrig becomes the FIRST player to have his uniform number (#4) retired. In front of over 61,000 fans at Yankees Stadium, Lou tells the fans "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." |
| 1939 |
August 26: The FIRST major league game is telecast when a TV camera is brought into Ebbets Field, where the Dodgers are hosting the Reds. The game is carried on W2XBS in New York with Red Barber the announcer. |
| 1940 |
April 27: Shortstop Lou Boudreau hits his FIRST big league home run off Tiger Hal Newhouser as the Indians win 4-2. |
| 1941 |
The Dodgers become the FIRST team to wear plastic batting helmets after Pee Wee Reese and Peter Reiser are idled by beanings. |
| 1941 |
April 26: The Chicago Cubs are the FIRST team to install an organ. With Roy Nelson at the keyboard, the Cubs hit bad notes and lose 6-2 to the Cardinals. |
| 1941 |
July 25: Forty one year old Lefty Grove wins his 300th, the LAST win of his career. The Red Sox defeat Cleveland 10-6 at Fenway Park. Grove would make 6 more career starts, but wouldn't earn another victory. |
| 1941 |
September 17: Stan Musial plays in his FIRST ballgame. He goes 2 for 4 as the Cards beat the Boston Braves. |
| 1943 |
June 13: The FIRST night All Star Game is played before 31,938 fans at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The AL won 5-3. |
| 1943 |
June 17: Player/manager Joe Cronin of the Red Sox is the FIRST player to smack pinch hit home runs in each game of a doubleheader. Both are 3 run shots in a doubleheader split against the Browns. |
| 1946 |
April 15: Manager Mel Ott hits his 511th and LAST home run on Opening Day against the Phillies. The Giants win the game 8-4. |
| 1946 |
May 8: Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky becomes the FIRST player in AL history to score 6 runs in one game, as Boston beats the White Sox 14-10. |
| 1946 |
August 9: All games are played at night for the FIRST time in major league history. |
| 1947 |
April 15: Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier and plays in his FIRST game. He goes 0 for 3 at bat, but scores the deciding run. In the field he handles 11 chances at first base in a 5-3 Brooklyn win over the Braves at Brooklyn. |
| 1947 |
July 5: Larry Doby of the Indians becomes the FIRST black player in the American League. He strikes out as a pinch hitter as the White Sox win the game 6-5. He'll get his first hit tomorrow. |
| 1947 |
July 20: Hank Thompson plays 2nd base and Willard Brown center field for the St. Louis Browns against the Red Sox. It marks the FIRST time that two black players appear in the same major league lineup. |
| 1947 |
August 21: Recently signed by the Dodgers, Dan Bankhead becomes the FIRST black major league pitcher. The Pirates rock Bankhead for 10 hits in 3 1/3 relief innings, but Bankhead homers in his first major league at bat. |
| 1950 |
April 17: The FIRST Opening Day night game is played with the Cardinals defeating the Pirates 4-2. |
| 1950 |
April 18: Yankees second baseman Billy Martin becomes the FIRST player to get 2 base hits in one inning in his FIRST major league game. A double and a single in the 8th inning in a 15-10 win over the Red Sox. |