Abner Powell
Charles Abner Powell
(Ab)
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 7", Weight 160 lb.
- Debut August 4, 1884
- Final Game October 13, 1886
- Born December 15, 1860 in Shenandoah, PA USA
- Died August 7, 1953 in New Orleans, LA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
"If there were real justice in such matters, Charles Abner Powell would be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Not for his feats on the playing field, although they were considerable, but for his immeasurable contribution to the game of baseball as an American institution. . . (His plaque) might read like this: 'Charles Abner (Ab) Powell, player, manager and club owner, developer of baseball's first rain check, Ladies' Day, the Knothole Gang, the field tarpaulin, free soda pop, band music and one of minor league baseball's superteams.' They might also add he was the only manager ever to fire his entire squad at once." - Sports Illustrated, March 19, 1973
Charles Abner "Ab" Powell played two seasons in the majors. In the minors he had both long playing and long managing careers. He also owned some of the clubs which he managed. As a player, he was all over the field as an outfielder, infielder and pitcher.
He is sometimes called "the father of the New Orleans Pelicans". Sources credit him with inventing Ladies' Day, the use of a tarpaulin to cover the field during rain delays, and the concept of the "rain check".
Powell owned the Atlanta team from 1902-1905, but an article (The Baseball Magnate and Urban Politics in the Progressive Era, 1895-1920) indicated that locals in Atlanta resented the profits going to an outsider from New Orleans and gradually forced him out.
"You're all fired. Go on up in the stands and watch a real team." - what Powell reportedly said to his New Orleans players in mid-1901 when he brought back 12 players from a North Carolina team to play for him (as quoted in Sports Illustrated)
"Abner Powell was the greatest pioneer of baseball. I’d sincerely say that Abner did more for the sport than any other man in history." - article [1] from The Hardball Times quoting Baseball Digest quoting Connie Mack
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