BOOG POWELL

Boog Powell is a legend In Baltimore, a still-visible reminder of the glory-days of Brooks and Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Earl Weaver, and, yes, that Davey Johnson. It was a blue collar team that stirred up memories of the days when they were the Browns and learned grittiness and determination from their crosstown Gas House Gang rivals. The only thing in the park quicker than Boog's bat was his smile, and his lumbering gait from first to third was a beautiful sight. I only saw him play a few times and it was always a treat. He was born to play in that little bandbox of a park over on 33rd Street; he had a surprisingly good glove round first base, and he hit a number of truly monumental home runs. I recall that Boog was doing his thing in Baltimore with some overlap with Frank Howard in DC--a veritable thunderfooted duet:

Powell, 1965-71 180 homers 649 rbis All Star,'68-'71
Howard, 1965-71 237 homers 650 rbis All Star, '68-'71

Boog was listed as 6-4, 240; "Hondo" as 6-7, 255. Howard arrived from the Dodgers in '65, led the AL in homers with 44 in '68 &'70 and hit a career high 48 In 1969. Boog, who played with the O's from 1961-74, finished up his career, ironically, in 1977 with the Dodgers.

Boog's presence at Camden Yards is one of the treats of going to the new "old" park. The lines are always longest at his Bar-B-Que stand, and his popularity with the fans remains totally undiminished as we watch the most successful team of 1958-85 start a downward spiral that will probably last for 10 years.