Doc Powers
| Doc Powers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Catcher | |
| Born: September 22, 1870 Pittsfield, Massachusetts |
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| Died: April 26, 1909 (aged 38) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| July 12, 1898 for the Louisville Colonels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 12, 1909 for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
| Career statistics | |
| AVG | .216 |
| HR | 4 |
| RBI | 199 |
| Teams | |
Michael Riley "Doc" Powers (September 22, 1870 – April 26, 1909) was an American Major League Baseball player who caught for four different teams from 1898 to 1909. He played for the Louisville Colonels and Washington Senators of the National League, and the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Highlanders of the American League. He played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame in 1897 and 1898. Powers' nickname was derived from the fact that he was a licensed physician as well as a ballplayer.[1]
On April 12, 1909, Powers was injured during the first game played in Philadelphia's Shibe Park, crashing into a wall while chasing a foul pop-up. He sustained internal injuries from the collision and died two weeks later from complications from three intestinal surgeries, becoming the first Major Leaguer to suffer a fatal on-field injury.[2] The only other player to die from an on-field incident was Ray Chapman in 1920. Powers himself said that he had become ill as a result of eating a cheese sandwich before the game. The immediate cause of death was peritonitis arising from post-surgery infections.[3]
His injury may have served as the inspiration for that suffered by "Bump" Bailey, a minor character in Bernard Malamud's novel The Natural, as well as its subsequent film adaptation.[original research?][citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Stew Thornley, Land of the Giants: New York's Polo Grounds (Temple University Press, 2000), p75
- ^ Merron, Jeff (June 22, 2002). "Major Leaguers Who Died In-Season". espn.com
- ^ Thornley, p75
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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This biographical article relating to a United States baseball catcher born in the 1870s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1870 births
- 1909 deaths
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Baseball players from Massachusetts
- Philadelphia Athletics players
- New York Highlanders players
- Louisville Colonels players
- Washington Senators (1891–1899) players
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players
- Sports deaths in Pennsylvania
- London (minor league baseball) players
- Galt (minor league baseball) players
- Petersburg Farmers players
- Hampton Clamdiggers players
- Deaths from peritonitis
- American baseball catcher, 1870s birth stubs
