A Little Giant emerges

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - 18-year old Mel Ott hit his first major league home run on this date in 1927. Ott's first was an inside-the-park job which helped his New York Giants beat the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 5'9" Gretna, Louisiana native hit 511 career homers, and that was the only one that didn't go over the fence.

Mel Ott arrived on the scene just a teen. He broke in with the Giants at age 17, and it wasn't because a lot of stars were off to war. It was 1926, the First World War had been over for several years and World War II wouldn't start for another 15. Ott had many great years, but his greatest was at age 20. Here are some of his 1929 stats, before he was old enough to vote:

Batting average .328
Home runs 42
RBI 151
Runs scored 138

Mel Ott was named to 9 All-Star games during his career. His life came to an abrupt end at 49 when his car was hit head-on in foggy conditions.

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