Bill Powell (powelbi01)

William Burris Powell
(Big Bill)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2½", Weight 182 lb.

• Debut April 16, 1909
• Final Game April 28, 1913
• Born May 8, 1885 in Richmond, VA USA
• Died September 28, 1967 in East Liverpool, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Big Bill Powell was a professional basketball and baseball player. He was in pro basketball for nine years and pro baseball for twelve years, with parts of four seasons in the major leagues.

As a pro basketball player, he started with his hometown East Liverpool, OH team, and continued when it joined the Central Basketball League. He played center. He didn't score much, but he excelled at the skills needed by a center. Source: Pro Basketball Encyclopedia.

In baseball, he apparently started in the minors at approximately the same time that his basketball career began. In 1908, with the Springfield Ponies, he went 20-8 and that got him a chance in the bigs in April of 1909. The 1909 Pirates, for whom he pitched in three games, went on to win the 1909 World Series. He had his most appearances with the 1910 Pittsburgh Pirates, posting a good 2.40 ERA although his WHIP was not as impressive. He was 11 years younger than team star Honus Wagner. In 1912 and 1913 he briefly appeared for two other National League teams (one game each). For a pitcher, he hit well in the majors, with a .269 batting average.

His minor league career went through 1916, with peaks in 1911, when he was 19-12 for the Kansas City Blues, and the following year, when he was 27-12 for the same team. As for his hitting, while statistics are not complete, he seems to have been a good minor league hitter as well - with the Blues in 1911 he hit .308, one of the better batting averages on the team.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909 (he did not play in the World Series)