Houston Post, April 12, 1911, pg. 8	Jack Powell Born: December 11, 1885 Died: July 25, 1971 Goto Baseball Reference for Jack Powell rf Majors: No
	St. Louis Position: rf First game: May 16, 1913 Last game: May 20, 1913 # of games: 4	On May 20, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat wrote "Mullin, pitcher; Brown, infielder; Witter, outfielder; Miller, outfielder; Jack Powell - not "Big Jack" - outfielder, are the new players signed up by O'Connor since leaving the city" (pg. 10). Full name Cornelius Joseph Powell. After an extended minor league career, he became an umpire in the National League and then the Pacific Coast League.

There is an intriguing follow-up in 1914. The newspapers in El Paso, Texas, reported on the club in Hurley, New Mexico, which played in the Copper League. "Powell, who comes from the Federal league, is an around man, is a hard sticker, a good base runner, and a good fielder, and will probably be used in the outfield" (El Paso Herald, March 28, 1914, pg. 16). He was released in June. "Jack Powell, who was secured from the Federal League, has been given his release by Riser. Jack was a good ball player when in condition" (El Paso Herald, June 22, 1914, pg. 7). There is only one Powell on the rosters of the Federal League clubs in Baseball-Reference: the mystery Powell from St. Louis. Maybe he wound up in Hurley, New Mexico in 1914?

Baseball-Reference identifies a second Jack Powell who pitched for the Browns in two games in 1913. This Jack Powell, described as a former University of Michigan pitcher in the game articles, made his debut for St. Louis on July 14, 1913 in Boston and pitched his final game on July 9, also in Boston. He has been identified as Reginald Bertrand Powell, age 21 in 1913. In 1914, he voiced Chaokia in a "pageant with which in St. Louis hopes to lure the rubes a hundred miles in every direction" (Dunklin Democrat (Kennett, Missouri), May 15, 1914). He was a student at Washington University at the time. Tragically, he died in Chattanooga in 1930 when he choked on a steak, which he was trying to eat in a single bite. Given that he was a pitcher, it is not likely he would have been tried in right field by manager O'Connor. Nor could he have been the Powell who played in Hurley, as he was voicing Cahokia in St. Louis at the time.

There is one minor league Jack Powell at that time identified in Baseball-Reference. This Jack Powell played for Vicksburg (MS) in 1912 and Sioux Falls (SD) in 1921. According to the Vicksburg Evening Post (March 19, 1912, pg. 3) "C.J. Powell, outfielder, joined the Vicksburg ball squad last night. Powell played with the Texas league last year." He broke his foot in late May, and just as he was recovering, he was released. "Jack Powell, placed in the local baseball discard, has hiked to Chicago" (Vicksburg Evening Post, July 31, 1912, pg. 5). It isn't clear what happened to him after he left Vicksburg, but this connection to the Texas League in 1911 opens new avenues to look at.

"Jack Powell, the slugging outfielder who opened the season with Houston last year, was exchanged to Galveston for Riggs, and later went to the Austin pennant winners, is in Houston en route to the South Atlantic, where he expects to play this year" (Houston Post, March 5, 1912, pg. 3). Baseball-Reference identifies Powell for Houston/Galveston/Austin as William Powell, with Bloomington in 1905 and Mobile in 1916. The player for Mobile was Watts Powell (Birmingham News, May 13, 1915, pg. 8). The Houston Post published a full roster of the 1911 Buffaloes on March 12, 1911 (pg. 19), identifying Jack Powell, aged 24, from Denver, Colorado. This suggests that Jack Powell with Vicksburg was Jack Powell from the Texas League in 1911. But what about the connection to Sioux Falls?

In 1921, Jack Powell tracks from Casper, Wyoming, through Aberdeen, South Dakota to Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1921. Unfortunately, there is no discussion of his previous career record in the papers at that time. His last appearance in Sioux Falls was mid-September as the season wound down. The trail goes cold, until in 1924 the Casper Star-Tribune relates that Jack Powell, former Casper outfielder, was hired as an umpire by the National League (February 6, 1924). He has a page on Baseball-Reference.

With concrete information on both the player for Houston/Galveston/Austin/Vicksburg (from the Houston Post) and the player/umpire from Casper/Aberdeen/Sioux Falls, the connection can be made. According to the umpire's Sporting News Umpire Card, he was married in Denver, CO in January 1909, consistent with the Houston Post's note that Jack Powell was from Denver, CO. The age in the Denver Post (24), suggests a birth date in 1887, while the umpire was born in 1885. And our umpire's full name is Cornelius Joseph Powell - C.J. Powell. This confirms that the umpire is most likely the ball player.

Cornelius Joseph Powell turns out to be easy to follow in the record. He started umpiring in the Michigan-Ontario League in 1922 after being released by the Port Huron club of that league. Late in 1923, an NL scout saw him in that league and got him a tryout with the National League. The following year was hired for a full time position, but he lasted only one season. In 1928, he was hired by the Pacific Coast League, and 25 years later he retired after serving his last few years as supervisor of umpires for the league. He died in California in 1971. The photo comes from the Los Angeles Mirror, in the article about his retirement (January 22, 1954, pg. 52).

But where does that leave our mystery Powell? One other note in the Houston Post roster was that Jack Powell's previous team, in 1910, was in El Paso. Not proof, but quite the coincidence. However, in May of 1954, the Salt Lake Tribune published parts of an interview with Powell.

"Powell broke in as a pitcher with Kenosha, Wis., in 1906, but switched to the outfield in 1907. He played in the Colorado State League, the Texas, the old Western, Cotton States, Interstate and the Federal League in 1913. (Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 1954, pg. 25.)

All of this suggest that the mystery Powell was in fact Cornelius Joesph Powell, (briefly) a major league umpire and a long time umpire of the Pacific Coast League.