William Powell
Pitcher
Born: (1919-05-08)May 8, 1919
Comer, Georgia
Died: August 21, 2004(2004-08-21) (aged 85)
Birmingham, Alabama
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Negro league baseball debut
1946, for the Birmingham Black Barons
Last appearance
1950, for the Birmingham Black Barons
Teams

William Henry Powell (May 8, 1919 – August 21, 2004) was an American Negro league pitcher for the Birmingham Black Barons between 1946 and 1950.

Career

A native of Comer, Georgia, Powell served in the United States Army during World War II.[1]

He joined the Birmingham Black Barons in 1946 as one of the club's "big four" starting pitchers along with Jay Heard, Curtis Hollingsworth and Jimmy Newberry.[2]

He was the starting and winning pitcher in the first 1948 East–West All-Star Game, and also started two games for the Black Barons in their 1948 Negro World Series loss to the Homestead Grays.[3][4]

Powell earned another All-Star nomination in 1950, finishing the year with a 15-4 win–loss record.[3] Black Barons owner Tom Hayes then released Powell so that he could tryout for the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League.[5]

From 1951 to 1956, he played for multiple Minor League Baseball clubs in the Pacific Coast League, Western League, American Association, International League, Texas League and South Atlantic League. [6] In 1957, he spent time with both the Savannah Redlegs of the South Atlantic League and the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. He played for three separate South Atlantic League clubs from 1958 to 1961 before ending his professional baseball career.[3]

Powell died in Birmingham, Alabama in 2004 at age 85.

References

  1. ↑ "Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII". baseballinwartime.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Barons Meet Giants Here". The Dayton Herald. July 9, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
  4. ↑ "William Powell". nlbemuseum.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  5. ↑ "William Powell Gets Tryout on Pacific Coast". Alabama Tribune. 27 April 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  6. ↑ "Bill Powell at Baseball-Reference (Minors)". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
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