I live in Arizona and am familiar with John Wesley Powell, the geologist and explorer who in 1869, took the first government sponsored trip through the Grand Canyon. Some of you are probably more familiar with another John Wesley Powell, better known as Boog Powell.
I picked up this 1962 Topps John Powell rookie card for 25 cents recently at The Batter's Box card shop. Isn't it great? It's off centered, has several nice creases and the corners are rounded. But check out the young John at Yankee Stadium with that glorious yellow 1962 Rookie star.
This is the only Topps card John would get that feature his given first name on the front. From 1963 - 1977 his cardboard would refer to him as Boog.
Topps may have missed on his nickname on this 1962 card, but they were dead on with what they wrote on the back. John did end up being the power hitter the Orioles were looking for. Boog play for Baltimore through the 1974 season and would make the all-star team 4 times and was the 1970 American League Most Valuable Player, all while helping the O's to World Series titles in 1966 and 1970.
What other baseball players share a famous name? I can think of a few, but I'm curious who I'm missing.
Boog Powell shares his name with Boog Powell, who played for Oakland and Seattle in 2017/2018. That's a fantastic pickup for a quarter.
ReplyDeleteMike Tyson (Cubs 2B in 80's) & Will Smith (Dodgers C)
ReplyDeleteAwesome 25¢ pickup!
DeleteThere was an infielder in the 60s named John Kennedy. Sadly his middle initial was not F.
ReplyDeleteA Boog Powell rookie for 25 cents? That's great! (And I'm a little jealous.)
ReplyDelete