| Doc Powers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: September 22, 1870 Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| Died: April 26, 1909 (aged 38) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 12, 1898, for the Louisville Colonels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 12, 1909, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .216 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 199 |
| Teams | |
Michael Riley "Doc" Powers (September 22, 1870 – April 26, 1909) was an American Major League Baseball player who caught for four teams from 1898 to 1909.
Powers played for the Louisville Colonels and Washington Senators of the National League, and the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Highlanders of the American League.
He played college baseball at College of the Holy Cross[1] and at the University of Notre Dame in 1897 and 1898.
Powers' nickname was derived honestly from the fact he was a licensed physician as well as a ballplayer.[2] During a brief stint with the New York Highlanders in 1905, Powers caught while Jim "Doc" Newton pitched, creating the only known example of a two-physician battery in Major League history.[3]
On April 12, 1909, Powers was injured during the first game played in Philadelphia's Shibe Park, crashing into a wall while chasing a foul pop-up. He sustained internal injuries from the collision and died two weeks later from complications from three intestinal surgeries, becoming possibly the first Major Leaguer to suffer an on-field injury that eventually led to his death.[4] The immediate cause of death was peritonitis arising from post-surgery infections.[5]