In this series of articles, I’ll take a look at the poses that were pulled early from T206 production and the reasons behind their early exits. Most poses were pulled early either due to a trade, demotion to the Minors, or retirement. Sadly, the reason Powers was removed from further production is more tragic.
On Opening Day of the 1909 season (April 12th), Powers was injured when he crashed into a wall while chasing a foul pop up. In the 7th inning, he collapsed but recovered enough to stay in the game until it was finished. As soon as the game ended, Powers was taken to the hospital. The initial prognosis was optimistic.
The only thing that occurred to cast a shadow over the joy of the fans was the seizure of “Doc” Powers with acute gastritis in the seventh inning. The redoubtable catcher, however, refused to abandon his post behind the plate and though suffering intense agony, pluckily stuck to it until the end of the game. On the verge of collapse, he was taken to Northwest General Hospital where last night it was stated by the physicians attending him that he would probably be able to don a uniform again in a few days.
–Philadelphia Inquirer April 13, 1909
Unfortunately, things soon took a turn for the worse. It was discovered that Powers was suffering from a rare medical condition called intussusception. Intussusception is a disorder in which a part of the intestine slides telescopically into an adjacent part. It results in a blockage that can prevent food and fluids from passing through. Worse still, it cuts off the flow of blood to the blocked part of the intestine. In Powers’ case, over a foot of his intestine had become gangrenous due to lack of blood flow. Surgeons removed the gangrenous section and for about a week, it looked like he might fully recover. Unfortunately, a new blockage was soon discovered, leading to another -this time more intrusive- operation which was performed on April 20, 1909. For a few days, the outlook was again positive, but on April 25th it was decided that a third surgery was necessary. This surgery revealed that Powers was suffering from acute dilation of the heart. Though he was given blood transfusions and oxygen, there wasn’t anything the doctors could do to save him. On the morning of April 26, 1909 Mike Powers passed away.
The popular version of the story depicts Powers as the first Major League Ballplayer to die from injuries sustained during a game. There is even a story that Powers himself posited a bad cheese sandwich he had eaten before the game was to blame for his intestinal problems. Though being a doctor himself, I’m sure he understood what had in fact happened once he was in the hospital receiving treatment and undergoing surgery.
The “romantic” notion that he died as a result of an on-field injury dominates the stories written about him, even to this day. The truth is the injury merely brought his pre-existing condition to the attention of the doctors and surgeons at the hospital. Wikipedia still lists the cause of death as complications following the on-field injury.
In an attempt to clear up misconceptions and set the record straight about what really killed Mike Powers, the Philadelphia Inquirer published the following on April 28, 1909:
At the conclusion of the ball game on Monday, April 12, Powers was found to be suffering from interssusseption [sic]39 of the bowel, which can probably be better described in homely language as like the tuck put in a man’s shirt sleeve to shorten it when it is too long.
Interssusseption is a condition found most frequently in children and in individuals who have more or less gaseous intestinal distension, and can occur while peacefully lying in bed as readily as while strenuously exercising. The mortality is usually very high; it being regarded as a generally fatal condition.
The need for an operation on Powers was manifested by the fact that he had a mass in the right lower portion of his abdomen, giving excruciating pain, and the opening made into the abdomen over the site of the mass revealed the fact that the lower end of the small intestine had slipped into the colcum [sic] or upper end of the large intestine, rendering about fifteen inches of intestine devoid of blood supply by pressure, and consequent gangrene of this portion of the intestine.
Efforts to reduce this interssusseption or, in plainer language, to restore the intestine to its normal condition, were unavailing, and the fifteen inches of intestine involved were cut out and the ends of the severed intestine were united, with the result that the obstruction was removed and the patient’s symptoms for a week were such as to lead all to believe in his ultimate recovery. At this time, however, symptoms of obstruction recurred and it was found necessary to perform a second operation. An artificial anus was then established in the abdominal walls at the seat of the original operation, when the obstruction completely disappeared and the patient improved and partook of nourishment satisfactorily until Sunday morning, the 25th instant, when suddenly he developed acute dilatation of the heart with collapse. During the day a considerable quantity of liquid was introduced into his circulation directly through openings in his veins; oxygen was administered continuously, but under neither did he respond and death resulted at 9:14 a.m. Monday.
Philadelphia Inquirer, April 28, 1909.
The funeral was held at St. Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Church on April 29, 1909. Doc Powers was buried in Saint Louis Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky shortly thereafter.
The Athletics and Major League Baseball in general were stunned and saddened by Powers’ passing. Connie Mack called Powers the “most popular man of the Athletics”. Mack soon asked American League President Ban Johnson for permission to stage a benefit for Powers’ family. Johnson agreed, and the Athletics began preparations for “Doc Powers Day”, which was held on June 30, 1910 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Doc Powers Day consisted of a skills competition followed by an exhibition game between the Philadelphia Athletics and an All Star team made up of players from other MLB clubs. Tickets cost between 10 cents and a dollar. Tris Speaker, Hal Chase, Jimmy Austin, Harry Hooper, Jake Stahl, Hippo Vaughn, and Germany Schaefer played for the All Star team.
The event was a huge success. When all was said and done, Doc Powers Day had raised approximately $8,000 for his widow and family.
SABR produced an excellent biography of Powers which tells the real story in it’s entirety. They go into much more detail than I do here. I highly recommend checking it out:
A Ballpark Opens and A Ballplayer Dies: The Converging Fates of Shibe Park and “Doc” Powers
Footnotes:
39. The disorder was spelled differently in 1909 (“Interssusseption”) than it is today (“Intussusception”). The original spelling as it appeared in the surgeon’s report is used in the quotation as extracted from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sources:
http://sabr.org/research/ballpark-opens-and-ballplayer-dies-converging-fates-shibe-park-and-doc-powers
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Doc_Powers
“Fully 35,000 Fans See Athletics Beat Boston in First Game of Season,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 13, 1909.