Martin Powell

Martin J. Powell

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut June 18, 1881
• Final Game August 10, 1884
• Born March 25, 1856 in Fitchburg, MA USA
• Died February 5, 1888 in Fitchburg, MA USA

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Biographical Information

"Dorgan, Powell, Winchester, Gillespie and Connor were a quintette of batters without superiors in those days." - a correspondent to Sporting Life, recalling the great Holyoke team in the late 1870's, from the June 19, 1889 issue

Martin Powell played three years in the National League and one in the Union Association. He finished second in batting average in the 1881 National League.

Powell was born, and died, in Fitchburg, MA. However, his major league career was not spent with teams in Boston, but rather with teams in Detroit and Cincinnati.

He did play in the minors for local teams - he was with Lowell in 1878 and Holyoke in 1879. He also played a couple years with Washington.

On June 18, 1878, Lowell won a 13-inning game 1-0 over Springfield on the strength of Powell's RBI single.

Although Fitchburg, MA is a fairly small town in north-central Massachusetts, eight major leaguers (through 2009) have been born there, most in the 19th Century. Powell was the first.

"I meet Martin Powell in the street nearly every day; he opens a clothing house in a few days. Martin was never much of a head-work player, but he was a good hitter, a more than fair first baseman and a man always to be depended on. It is a pity he was ever frightened off the diamond. I don't think he had the seeds of consumption in him . . . but his sister died of the disease and Martin immediately makes up his mind that he is bound for the 'happy hunting grounds'. - from a Fitchburg correspondent to Sporting Life, April 14, 1886

An obituary appears in the February 15, 1888 edition of Sporting Life. It says Martin began playing ball in 1876 with the amateur Grattan Club, and then with Rollstones. The article says he did die of consumption. Powell is mentioned in the Sporting Life of Oct. 28, 1893, in a reference that he was chosen over Dan Brouthers in 1882 when Cincinnati could have had either of them.