This story doesn't quite fit in this thread, but is connected in a way. Granted the T206 set is populated by several players who never played a major league game. Granted, as well, that Mike Powers was 38 years old in 1909, the first year of the T206 issue, and had been in the majors and minors since 1896. I'm also sure that many of you know the story recounted below, but hopefully it will be new to some. Powers card in the 150 only series was not included in subsequent issues, due to the events that transpired on opening day in 1909, Powers' last game.
Opening Day April 12, 1909 was looking good for the Athletics as over 30,000 were on hand to dedicate the new Shibe Park. It looked even better with the 8-1-victory over Boston. Powers was happy to be catching his buddy Plank.
However, that Easter Monday took a strange, fatal twist. To this day, it’s not entirely clear just what happen to Mike Powers. It was a mystery, at least the viewers and probably to his teammates as well. The root of the problem was never pinpointed in contemporary accounts.
What is known is that Powers wasn’t feeling well and by the seventh inning he was slumped over in the dugout with violent pains. Blame was later attached to “an unusual effort to reach a ball (which) did some mysterious damage.” He had crashed into the wall trying to catch a ball in foul territory.
Other reports suggest he was hurt diving for a foul ball. Still others lay blame on a sandwich he consumed during the game; in fact, they all might have contributed to the problem or, perhaps, none of them did. A preexisting, unrecognized problem may have just decided to show itself on April 12.
Whatever he felt in the 7th inning, Powers pushed through and finished the game. But, he collapsed getting dressed in the clubhouse shortly after the game and was taken to Northwestern General Hospital. Initially he was diagnosed with gastritis and/or peritonitis.
The first of three operations took place the morning of the 14th. It was found that he had an invaginated intestine. A Surgeon removed a section of the intestine. The prognosis was bleak; doctors only gave Powers a 1 in 5 chance of surviving.
Powers agonized in the hospital. He endured two more operations and he couldn’t eat. Gangrene was infecting his bowels. It would prove fatal.
Certainly the story line that Powers died as a result of injuries sustained while crashing into a fence chasing a foul ball has some appeal, but it is probably more likely urban legend. From a medical and surgical perspective the condition Powers suffered from, intussusception, probably just surfaced on that day and would have resulted in the same outcome, with or without the foul ball and regardless of whether Powers played that day or not.
As a result of his 1 game career in 1909, Powers T206 card is somewhat rarer and carries a premium value due to relative rarity. Hopefully I'm not
just preaching to choir, but in my defense the story also has a tie in to Easter.
