Les Powers

Les Powers was a first baseman who played for the Giants in 1938 and the Phillies in 1939. He later became a minor league executive.

Leslie Edwin Powers was born November 5, 1909, in Seattle, the only child of Ray and Elizabeth Powers, who were living at 6704 22^nd Avenue NW. Ray was born in Washington, while Elizabeth had emigrated from Canada as a child.

In the 1910 census Ray is an electrician for the city and they are renting a house at 4139 Fremont Avenue. Ray is 21, Elizabeth is 18, and Ray’s 35-year-old brother William, a shoemaker, is living with them. In 1912 they are living at 4226 14^th Avenue NE.

By the 1920 census they have moved to Los Angeles, on W 37^th Place. Ray is still an electrician, Leslie is ten years old, and they have a lodger, Lucille Booth, a 26-year-old candy maker.

Les graduated in 1929 from Loyola High School, where he was a star football player. That fall he began attending Santa Clara University, where he played on the freshman football team. In the summer of 1930 he played semi-pro baseball in San Diego for the Pacific Electric Railway Company team. He played fullback for the football team in 1930 and 1931; I also found a February 1931 report that he was a contender for the first base job with the school baseball team, but didn’t find any more references to that.

His 1932 voter registration shows Les living at 1634 S New Hampshire Avenue in Los Angeles.

From the San Jose Evening News, September 13, 1932:

Powers Quits Bronco School

Les Powers, star gridder of the University of Santa Clara, who was obliged to quit school, due to financial troubles, will not be added to the coaching staff of the Bellarmine Prep School, according to Santa Clara University officials today.

Powers has checked out of school and is on his way to his Los Angeles home. He refused to play football this season for fear that injuries would kill his chances of playing professional baseball.

It is hinted that he has signed a professional baseball contract and refused to go out for football for fear of hurting the Broncos’ chances with conference teams.

(As an aside, there was another Les Powers playing baseball in California in that period, a pitcher and outfielder for various semi-pro and minor league teams in the late 1920s and 1930s, which can cause confusion for the researcher. Baseball Reference credits five games with the 1933 Hollywood Stars to our Les, but they almost certainly belong to the other one.)

Les did sign a contract, with the New York Yankees. From an April 6, 1933, Sporting News report on spring training for the Newark Bears of the International League:

Leslie Powers, first baseman and outfielder, is expected to join the Bears here this week. He is en route from Santa Clara University. Powers is reputed to be a nifty player and a heavy clouter. During the few remaining exhibition games at home, Powers will be looked over by Manager Al Mamaux. Should he need further experience, it is likely he will be farmed out to one of the lower classification clubs in the Yankees’ chain.

Les ended up playing first for the Durham Bulls of the Class B Piedmont League, where he mainly batted fifth in the order until being moved up to third late in the season. He hit .305 and slugged .434 in 442 at-bats in 116 games, with 25 doubles, four triples, and eight home runs. On November 13, in Los Angeles County, Les married Barbara C. Leider, age 21,

On February 25, 1934, Bill Cox of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot published a letter he had received from Fred Haney of the Durham Herald (not the player-manager Fred Haney) which included the following:

Les Powers, first baseman, is as good a defensive man as you’ll find in the minors. He’s left-handed, is fast and will hit right around .300. He comes from California Loyola and is a physical education director during the off-season.

In 1934 Norfolk replaced Durham as the Yankee affiliate in the Piedmont League, so Fred may have written that expecting Les to play in Norfolk that year. But instead he was moved up two steps to the Sacramento Senators of the Pacific Coast League. From the San Diego Union, April 21:

They may only be spring flowers, but right now Catcher Ted Mayer and First Baseman Les Powers are fair-haired boys with Sacramento baseball fans.

Powers was not rated much in the spring training camp and was scheduled to be released as soon as a replacement could be found for him, but none was available when the Pacific Coast league season opened. So Powers was sent in to play first base. And what a job he has been doing and hitting at tops [sic] along with his fine fielding.

Les kept the job all season, playing 187 games, mostly batting leadoff. He hit .286 and slugged .357 while managing not to hit a single home run in 751 at-bats, though he did hit 37 doubles and eight triples. He received one vote for league MVP, won by Frank Demaree of Los Angeles with 32 votes. In December the Yankees optioned Les to the San Francisco Seals, also of the PCL, as part of the deal that gave New York Joe DiMaggio. The Yankees let DiMaggio play one more season with the Seals before reporting to New York, though, so he and Les were teammates in 1935.

Les played first and batted second for the 1935 Seals, with DiMaggio batting cleanup. From the September 20 San Francisco Chronicle:

The New York Yankees have officially recalled Les Powers, first baseman of the Seals. He has been sent out on option three times and the Yanks will have to keep him or dispose of him outright. Right now he is troubled with a charley horse, but he is in the lineup every day. He has saved Seals’ infielders many an error by his ability to handle badly thrown balls. He has almost done a “split” in reaching for some of the bad tosses.

Les finished the season with the Seals, not being scheduled to report to New York until spring 1936. He hit .308 and slugged .402 with 32 doubles, 11 triples and four homers in 704 at-bats.

On February 4, 1936, Harry B. Smith of the San Diego Evening Tribune, in his “Sports Mirror” column, under the heading “GRAINS OF GOSSIP FROM SANTA ANITA [racetrack],” wrote:

Les Powers, who first based for the Seals, shows up occasionally. Tells Fred Purner the Yanks will likely send him to Newark.

Les’ 1936 voter registration showed him living at 1240 Meadowbrook Avenue, Los Angeles. From the San Francisco Chronicle, February 16:

Les Powers Ball Coach at Loyola

Les Powers, who played first base for the Seals last year is now baseball coach at Loyola University, near Los Angeles. He still belongs to the New York Yankees, but that club cannot farm him out any more. The Yanks must pay him, sell him or release him, so the Yankee scouts are looking for some club that want to buy a first baseman.

Les ended up at spring training with Newark, as he had predicted, though I’m not sure by what mechanism, given that the Yankees were out of options. He started the regular season with them but lost the first base job to Johnny McCarthy. In mid-May it was reported that he was headed for Portland of the PCL, but that didn’t happen. On May 26 Les was optioned to the Baltimore Orioles, also of the International League; he got into a few games before Commissioner Landis voided the transaction. The AP reported on June 5:

Landis Orders Baltimore To Give Up Les Powers

BALTIMORE, June 5 (AP).—Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball commissioner, today ordered the Baltimore Orioles to return First Baseman Les Powers to the New York Yankees. Powers joined the Orioles after Newark had sent him to the Yankees. Judge Landis ruled this a violation of the rule that a player cannot be optioned to another team in the same league.

From Charles Young’s “Sports Stadium” column in the June 6 Albany News:

International League clubs apparently are watching the moves of each other carefully, which may or may not explain why Baseball Commissioner Landis yesterday ordered Baltimore to return Les Powers, first baseman, to the New York Yankees. When the Senators were in Baltimore this week it was whispered around that the deal whereby the Birds got Powers from the Yankees wouldn’t hold up. It was pointed out that Newark sent the player to the Yankees in order to have the Yanks send him to the Birds because baseball law prohibits one club from sending a player to another club in the same league on option. I was informed Monday by one International Leaguer that the Powers deal probably would be protested and Landis settled the case yesterday by ordering the return of the player to the Yankees.

The Orioles really wanted Les, though, and the matter was settled when they purchased his contract for $10,000. He played first and batted second in the order and had an excellent year; on September 8 the Orioles sold him to the New York Giants, to report to them for spring training 1937. His total IL stats, combining Newark and Baltimore, included hitting .340/.385/.578 in 453 at-bats in 119 games, with 27 doubles, six triples, 23 home runs, 109 runs, and 15 stolen bases.

During the 1936-37 off-season Les played for the Los Angeles White Kings in the San Diego Winter Baseball League and coached football at Loyola University. The November 20 San Jose Evening News stated that:

…Les Powers, who was a darned good punter when he wore a Bronco uniform, is doing the Lions’ backfield plenty of good. He is teaching them to kick, block and other things well.

From the next day’s San Diego Union:

White Kings To Rely on Giant Hope

When the White Kings of Los Angeles trot out on Monroe field tomorrow in quest of their second Southern California Winter League triumph over San Diego, they will have in their ranks a man who is considered a likely successor to Bill Terry as regular first baseman for the New York Giants.

Edwin “Les” Powers [sic], the one-time Santa Clara university football star, is marked for delivery to the Giant fold in the spring having been sold by the Baltimore Orioles for the neat sum of $50,000 [a later story says $15,000, which seems much more likely]. Along with Sam Leslie and Johnny McCarthy, he will be bidding for Terry’s vacant post when the 1937 training period begins for the National league champions.

A big, powerfully-built athlete, Powers bats and throws left handed, was an all-around sports figure at Santa Clara and, in 1932, was mentioned as an all-Pacific coast halfback. He also was regarded a fair sort of sprinter and his speed is one of the factors that has helped him to move around so well in the vicinity of the initial sack. During that 1932 grid season with the Broncos, Powers won a trophy as the club’s best punter with a 61-yard average.

His baseball play in the university caught the eye of Bill Essick, of the Yankees, and he was signed with orders to report to the Newark Bears in 1933. Later he went to Binghamton [I found no other evidence of that], then to Durham in the Piedmont League…

From John Lardner’s syndicated column of March 19:

…Anyhow, Terry or no Terry, you still have three first basemen left. Johnny McCarthy, Sam Leslie, and Les Powers. Powers is up from Baltimore, and the Giants are paying $1,500 for the privilege of looking him over in training. If they want to keep him, they must fork over the balance of a $15,000 price tag and let one of the other boys go. If they don’t keep him, he goes back to Baltimore on option, which means that any other club can grab him if the Giants don’t pay up.

Powers is quite a prospect, a good hitter and a better than average fielder, but Mr. Terry apparently plans to let him escape. The boys say—unofficially—that this is because Mr. Powers talks too much to suit Mr. Terry. The Giants are more or less of a single-mouthpiece club, and Mr. Powers would not have to talk very much to irk his boss. As far as I can make out, his garrulity does not take a particularly vicious turn. He merely points out, which is true enough, what he has outhit his rival, John McCarthy, in every league the two of them have played in to date, and he sees no reason why he shouldn’t out hit Johnno in the National league.

However, the Giants have close to $50,000 invested in McCarthy, and they expect to string along with him, using Sam Leslie as a pinch hitter.

Les was in fact optioned back to Baltimore, despite his opinions on the matter, and he spent the season there. As of May 8 he was leading the league in RBI; on May 17 it was reported that he had “been sent to Philadelphia for treatment of a torn muscle in his leg.” But he wasn’t out long, and on June 1 the Jersey Journal ran the following on his combining of his two jobs:

Two Hudson Boys Talk With Powers On Football Plans

Les Powers, Baltimore Oriole first baseman and backfield coach of Loyola University of Los Angeles, was reported to be seeking material from Hudson County, while the Orioles were in Jersey City for their series with the Jersey Giants.

Bernie Flaherty, former Lincoln High School captain, and Adam Sadowski, Bayonne High, were players with whom Powers discussed possibilities of going to Loyola in the Fall.

Flaherty and Sadowski were members of The Jersey Journal’s 1935 All-County High School team. Flaherty was reported to be headed for Fordham and then Wake Forest College. Sadowski, it was said, was introduced to Powers by Al Monchak before the latter was sent to Knoxville in the Southern Association after Sunday’s game at Roosevelt Stadium.

If the local boys decide to go to Loyola, they will be coached by Tom Lieb, former assistant coach under Knute Rockne at Notre Dame.

If Les did in fact go to Knoxville, there’s no other evidence of it, and he wasn’t there long—he hit two home runs for the Orioles on June 7. On July 13 the Omaha World Herald mentioned that he “is head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Loyola university in Los Angeles.”

Les hit .307/.373/.502 for Baltimore in 550 at-bats in 147 games, with 28 doubles, eight triples, and 21 home runs; he drove in 95 runs, easily a career high, and scored 96. On December 17 the Giants optioned him to Jersey City.

Jersey City sent Les a contract, but he didn’t sign it. From the Jersey Journal, February 24, 1938:

Powers Asks Jerseys to Trade Him to Coast League

Les Wants to Be Nearer His Off-Season Work And At Same Time Receive Higher Salary

Longer Season on West Coast Would Enable First Baseman to Earn More Money, From Baseball, Than Local Club Would Be Able to Pay for Season of 154 Games

Les Powers, who was expected to make up one-fourth of what appeared to be a promising Jersey City infield, isn’t going to do any first-basing for the local International League club—if he can help it.

Secretary Jack Cook of the local Giants admitted today that Powers had written the Jerseys and asked that they trade him to some Pacific Coast League club so that he can remain close to his off-season duties as a football and basketball coach at Loyola University of Los Angeles. At the same time, Powers pointed out, playing in the Coast League, with its longer schedule, would assure him of a greater income than he could receive as a member of an International League team.

That Powers has been far from satisfied with his transfer, on option, from the “parent” New York Giants to that club’s local “farm” has been known for weeks. However, he has apparently become resigned to the fact that Bill Terry can’t see him for the first base job with the Polo Grounds club and wants to get out of the organization entirely.

Originally Powers contended that he was as capable a first baseman as Johnny McCarthy and was entitled to a chance to prove that point at Baton Rouge. When this plea to Terry availed him nothing Les decided on his latest plan.

Cook, in admitting receipt of Powers’ letter, intimated that every effort would be made to change Les’ mind but, if that should fail, the club will redouble its efforts to secure a first baseman it believes is on the market, or could be purchased. Such a procedure will likely prove costly, but the loss will have to be met in order to fill the first base post, a troublesome position for the Jerseys throughout all of the last campaign.

Right now there seems nothing the Jerseys can do but make some arrangements regarding Powers’ future. Les would probably have been one of the finest first basemen that has ever played that position in this city, if he came here in a proper frame of mind. But, a disenchanted Powers would be practically useless to the club and it would do well to dispose of him whatever the loss may be, before the season opens…

Three days later Terry announced that Les, along with third baseman Mickey Haslin, had been returned to New York by Jersey City, and that he had ordered both to report to NY spring training in Baton Rouge. On March 7 the Jersey Journal reported that he had assured them that Powers and Haslin would be in the JC starting lineup on opening day; but the next day they reported that Jersey City manager Travis Jackson did not share that optimism. On March 11 they updated the story:

Jackson, in communication with Bill Terry again, asked the Giants’ general manager for some pitchers and a firstbaseman, but received no satisfactory reply. Terry did inform Jackson, however, that he had given in to Les Powers' demands and ordered the Californian to report at Baton Rouge immediately. While Powers is slated to work out with the Giants, Terry still believes he can convince him he should join the Jerseys, where he had originally been sent.

And March 17:

…He [Terry] also intimated that Les Powers, long awaited first baseman, would be turned over about the same time. Powers was originally on the Jersey Giants’ roster but was recalled with Mickey Haslin, some few weeks ago. Les lingered at his home in Los Angeles, Calif., and conflicting reasons were circulated for failure to report in the South. Finally it became known he was on his way to Baton Rouge. Early yesterday morning he arrived in that city. Incidentally, rumors to the contrary notwithstanding, Powers is not signed.

Terry will talk “turkey” to the former Baltimore first sacker today and he is expected to come into the fold forthwith.

AP story, March 19:

[Terry] gave Reserve First Baseman Les Powers 48 hours to think over a proposition of a $1500 salary increase and a steady berth with the farm club.

Powers, although offered a $1,500 pay boost is undecided whether to take and play with the Jerseys this year, or return to California, quit baseball, and resume coaching at Loyola University of Los Angeles.

The next day Les pinch hit for Carl Hubbell and singled off Mel Harder in a New York-Cleveland exhibition game, then the day after that he arrived in Lafayette and joined Jersey City at their spring training base. From Sports Editor Frank Dunham’s “We Dare Say” column in the March 28 Jersey Journal:

Leslie Powers, Jersey Giants’ First Baseman, Appears to Be Prototype of His Boss, “Terrible” Bill Terry.

LAFAYETTE, La.—Leslie Powers might well be called a prototype of his boss, “Terrible” Bill Terry. After a glimpse into the background of the Jersey Giants’ first baseman we can’t think of any better way to describe this versatile young college-bred from the Pacific Coast.

When Terry started up the baseball ladder we suspect he had a pretty good idea where he was going. He wouldn’t have reached his present lofty position had he lacked ambition and an unlimited capacity for hard work.

In this respect Powers has a great deal in common with the general manager of the New York Giants’ organization. Furthermore, Les likes the feel of money just as much as Bill does.

The player, who arrived late in camp to fill a big void in “Stoney” Jackson’s infield, has definite ideas about what he is going to do with his talents. First of all he wants to be a major leaguer. And, we have a notion “Fawney” Bill assured Powers this little contingency would be taken care of before the latter would sign a New York Giants contract at Baton Rouge recently.

It was the promise he would eventually go up, coupled with a lucrative salary for playing with the Jer-Giants, that induced the gifted first sacker to return for another season of minor league baseball. At least, there you have our impression.

We like to believe the element of humanity sometimes enters into baseball transactions. It is possible Terry recognized in Powers a kindred spirit, and warmed to the player who was trying to make the best of his opportunities. Bill may have been reminded of the time when he was trying to do the same thing.

When Les told his boss about his coaching job at Loyola that [sic] it must have struck a familiar chord because we can’t remember when Terry overlooked a chance to cash in on outside ventures.

It was true Les had other interests besides playing baseball. Bill investigated and verified Powers’ contention that he was receiving important money as assistant to Head Coach Tom Lieb at Loyola University.

Here was a young man after his own heart. Les was stealing some of Terry’s own stuff. But, instead of resenting the youngster’s initiative, he decided Powers was the type of player he wanted to retain in the organization—at any cost. We understand Les will be the highest salaried first-baseman in the International League, this season.

Allowing for the difference in ages and stages of their careers, Powers is endowed with much the same driving power that motivated Terry’s rise from the ranks, to the job of managing the New York Giants and more recently supervising one of the wealthiest and most powerful organizations in the sport…

When asked if he’s satisfied to play for Travis Jackson, Les hastened to reply. “’Jax’ is a swell fellow and there isn’t a manager in the league I’d rather work under. They tell me Roosevelt Stadium is a good park for a hustlin’ ball player…well, that’s me!”

Les started the season batting second for Jersey City. He missed much of June with a leg injury, and after he returned he started getting criticized for his lack of home runs and RBI. The Jersey Journal reported on August 1:

The Knights of Columbus will sponsor a “Les Powers Day” and present the Jerseys’ first baseman with a traveling bag next Sunday afternoon. Les became a member of No. 137 Council shortly after the Jerseys returned from their trip to the South last spring.

Sporting News, August 25:

MacPHAIL FEUD MULTIPLIES TERRY’S TROUBLES

BALKED ON WAIVERS IN FIRST BASE DEAL

ACTION CHECKS GIANTS’ EFFORTS TO BRING IN LES POWERS

Interborough Difficulties Come on Top of Loss of Hubbell; Yankees Need Only Play .500 Ball to Win

…Last week Terry wanted to try out Les Powers, the Jersey City first baseman, on the Giants. Bill asked for waivers on Johnny McCarthy and Sam Leslie. MacPhail claimed both men. Larry already had Dolph Camilli and Buddy Hassett and one wonders what he would have done with McCarthy and Leslie. But he claimed them and blocked Terry.

This aroused Memphis Bill to fever pitch. He got even more angry when the story leaked out and appeared in a New York paper. He made inquiry and could not trace the leak, though he voiced his suspicions.

So Terry waited until September, after the rosters expanded and he didn’t need to send anyone down, to call Les up. Les finished the IL season with Jersey City, hitting .293/.353/.383 with 15 doubles, eight triples and five homers in 509 at-bats.

Les made his major league debut in the first game of a home doubleheader against the Cubs on September 17. He pinch-hit for relief pitcher Dick Coffman to lead off the bottom of the ninth and lined out to right against Big Bill Lee, as Lee shut out the Giants, 4-0.

Les made his second and final appearance for the Giants a week later, also in the first game of a doubleheader, this one in Boston. He pinch-hit for starting pitcher Johnnie Wittig to lead off the third with the Giants down 5-0. He grounded out, 3-1, but New York scored five runs in the inning and went on to win, 9-8. From the Jersey Journal, September 26:

Les Powers, back with the Giants apparently doesn’t want to stay there if he can help it…Les, it is said, saw Commissioner K.M. Landis recently and made a plea that he be declared a free agent…Early trade rumors have Powers and Gus Mancuso ticketed for Brooklyn in exchange for “Buddy” Hassett, but if Les is declared a free agent the Giants will have to revise their offer.

No word on what Les’ argument for free agency was. After the NL season ended he went back to southern California and played for the White Kings again. On December 7 he was sold for $10,000, not to the Dodgers but the Phillies, as reported in the December 15 Sporting News:

POWERS NO. 1 CATCH IN PHIL POWER HUNT

FIRST SACKER FROM JERSEY CITY ALSO RATES HIGH ON DEFENSE

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—First base is the position Quaker City fans were talking about as the officials of the Athletics and Phillies joined in the big leagues’ “buy, sell or trade” convention in New York…

Well, Gerry Nugent started the local movement to land batting power for the first base post when he acquired Les Powers, a Giant farmhand who did some slugging for Jersey City last season. Before this lad was purchased, the Phils sold Phil Weintraub to Minneapolis. This was a surprise…

Furthermore, the Phillies are not stopping at Powers—(rather an appropriate name, oh what! when it’s power the club is seeking for first base), Doc Prothro, the new manager, admitted he was dickering with the Chicago Cubs in an effort to get Phil Cavaretta…

A March 9, 1939, AP report from the Phillies spring training camp in New Braunfels, Texas, said that Prothro “has been much impressed” by Les, who “may wind up as the Phillies’ varsity first sacker this year.” On March 17 the INS news service reported that Les was one of five Phillies who, according to Prothro, was not on the trading block (the others being Pinky May, Pinky Whitney, Hugh Mulcahy and LeGrant Scott). But things apparently changed quickly, as the AP reported on April 10:

That “Doc” Prothro isn’t entirely satisfied with Les Powers, whom the Philadelphia Phillies bought from the New York Giants, even though he approved the sale of Baxter Jordan to Syracuse, was indicated over the week-end…The Phillies made a conditional deal with the New York Yankees’ organization whereby Len Gabrielson, a first baseman, was taken on trial at a cost of $25,000 and Pitcher Pete Sivess…

Both Les and Gabrielson made the team. Les started at first and batted second in the order in the first three games of the season; he got his first major league hit in the opener at Boston, leading off the fifth with a single off reliever Dick Errickson. He also made an error in the 12^th inning that led to the winning run in a 7-6 Phillies loss.

Gabrielson got the start in games four through seven, then Les regained the position for the next ten games, moving to fifth and then sixth in the lineup. On May 1 he went 3-for-5 with a triple in Brooklyn against Dodger pitchers Vito Tamulis and Tot Pressnell. Through May 7 he was hitting .354, but was having trouble with his legs which limited him to four pinch-hit appearances over the next four weeks. From the July 1 Beaumont Enterprise:

Les Powers on Sidelines With Spinal Ailment

PHILADELPHIA, June 30—(AP)—The baseball career of Leslie Powers, 27, rookie first sacker of the Phillies, has been halted, at least temporarily, by a spinal ailment.

President Gerry Nugent of the Phils said today he was told by doctors that Powers is suffering from an obstruction of the inner spinal channel, which affects the nerves governing use of his legs.

“The doctors advised a complete rest,” Nugent declared. “So it was a case of putting Les on the voluntary retired list or releasing him outright. He preferred the unconditional release so that’s what we arranged.”

Nugent said Powers’ ailment is not in any way similar to that which ended the career of Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees.

Powers, a graduate of Santa Clara university, came to the Phils from Jersey City of the International League this spring. He plans to leave for his home in Los Angeles within several days.

In October Les started playing with the White Kings in the Southern California winter league. Due to having obtained his release he was free to bargain with any team he wanted to, and in December he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. From the December 5 Milwaukee Journal:

…Powers, a free agent, wired [manager Mickey] Heath for a job Monday morning and after two telephone conversations between here and Powers’ home in Venice, Calif., the deal was closed. Powers, according to Heath, will receive a substantial bonus for signing, part of which was air mailed to him Monday night.

“I know Powers personally from the International League,” said Heath. “He’ll be an ideal man for our club next year because he is an aggressive player, something we have lacked on our infield for some time.”

Same newspaper, December 15:

Les Powers, new Brewer first baseman, in a letter to Mike Heath, says he’ll be an early bird in spring camp. His wife and two children will accompany him…

Same paper, December 17:

The signing of Les Powers, new Brewer first baseman, involved extra expenditure besides the bonus the player will receive. Two long distance calls cost the club $28. Heath talked $18 worth with Powers from Cincinnati. Then Bendinger [owner] followed with a $10 conversation. Powers lives in Venice, Calif.

Same paper, same day:

Morrie Arnovich, the Eaglebeak Spruder of Superior, says the Brewers picked up a real ballplayer when they signed Les Powers. Morrie and Powers spent last spring in the same training camp and played together for a month on the Phillies before Powers hurt his back. Heinie Bendinger gets a headache when he thinks about gambling $10,000 [bonus] on that injured back, but the club has every reason to believe Powers is O.K.—including a doctor’s certificate obtained by a coast club which wanted to sign Powers.

Also in the Milwaukee Journal, on December 24 Sam Levy, in his “On the First Bounce” column, wrote of talking with International League umpire Chet Swanson:

Swanson also filed a favorable report on Les Powers, new Brewer first baseman. Last year Les was with the Jersey City club and Swanson was impressed with his aggressiveness.

“If Powers has regained his health (he retired last spring because of a back injury), he’ll make a valuable man for the Brewers,” continued Swanson. “He’s a live wire around first base, the kind the customers like to hear as well as watch. Les isn’t a fancy Dan around the bag, but he is a sure fielder.”

Milwaukee Sentinel, January 14, 1940:

Powers, New Brew, Is Fully Recovered

By Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13—Richard (Red) Smith of the Brewer organization came up with some good news for Milwaukee fans today. Here it is:

Les Powers, new first baseman, has regained his health and will be ready for action when practice starts at Ocala, Fla., in March.

After checking with his physician and visiting Powers at his home Friday night Smith submitted this report:

“The doctor says he is fully recovered and will be as good as ever. Powers told me he has been working out with the Loyola baseball team and getting in a lot of swimming this winter. He looks very fit and is enthused about playing with Milwaukee.”

The swimming item is most encouraging. It is proof that the spinal nerve injury he suffered last season while with the Phillies has been healed; otherwise he wouldn’t be able to paddle around. Smith is impressed by the reports on Powers. He is a hustler and a left handed hitter who will find the short fences at Borchert field, Columbus and Minneapolis made to order for him…

During spring training Heath decided that Les would be his cleanup hitter. From Red Thisted’s “The Second Guess” column in the March 20 Milwaukee Sentinel:

…Last summer an asthmatic mouse could have drowned out in one feeble gasp all the noise our “Silent Four” was responsible for, but right now it would take a circus calliope to even get attention when Les Powers, Charley English and others cut loose vocally.

Rockford Register-Republic, March 27:

Les Powers, first baseman of the Milwaukee American Association team, is working for his master’s degree at the University of Southern California and aims to be a teacher of English.

Next day, Milwaukee Journal:

First sacker Les Powers has gone hitless in 11 attempts, but Heath is not worried.

“I made only two base hits in spring games with the Philly Nationals last year,” said Powers Wednesday. “But when the bell rang I got off to a good start and was hitting well over .300 when I left the game because of an injury.”

On April 4 it was reported that Les was hitting .103 in exhibition games, which would be 3 for 29.

Milwaukee Journal, April 26:

Les Powers of the Brewers says that Ty Cobb, who was hated by many in his playing days, is a grand fellow, always ready to pass along valuable information to ambitious diamond stars.

At some point during Les’ stay with Milwaukee (he listed “Milwaukee Base Ball Club” as his employer) he filled out an undated draft registration. It shows his address as 254 Rees Street in Venice, the person who will always know your address as neighbor J. Balkum, his height and weight as 6-0, 183, and his appearance as hazel eyes, brown hair, and light complexion. From the April 30 Journal:

Les Powers Keeps Brewer Infield Pepped Up With His Incessant Chatter

“Fire! Fire! Fire!” Don’t be alarmed, folks, it’s only Les Powers stoking the Brewers’ infield. Anytime there’s a lull on the diamond, you’ll hear Powers sound the signal, and Charley, Wimpy and Barney, a lively trio, will respond.

Maybe it’s the good old college spirit he acquired at Santa Clara that makes the affable Brewer first sacker so aggressive. But he’s always been known as the life of the party on the playing field—football or baseball.

“When I yell ‘Fire!’ I mean ‘Fire up!’ explains Powers. “I yell that rather than ‘Come on, Wimpy,’ or ‘Come on, Charley,’ or ‘Come on, Barney.’ Wilburn, English and Walls are cheerleaders, too. That’s why I like our infield—it’s a live wire outfit.”

Mike Heath doesn’t know it, but he was Les’ idol when the Brewer skipper was an outstanding first baseman in the minor leagues. It was back in 1927 when Mike was with Hollywood (Pacific Coast League). Let Powers tell it:

“I was a freshman in high school then and was baseball minded. My greatest thrill was getting on the Hollywood field during infield practice to get a close-up of Heath at first base. What tricks he did with his glove! Practically all the plays he made in those days were one handed. For a few minutes before the infield practice was completed I used to take over at first base after Heath had left.”

On May 13 the Greensboro Record reported:

Les Powers, Milwaukee first baseman, who winters in California, owns his first hat in five years. The cold spring at Milwaukee forced the purchase.

On June 30 the Sentinel called Les the “third best bet” to be the all-star game first baseman. On July 7 they reported:

Heath’s hopes are mainly predicated on the belief that the pitching will get straightened out on the current road trip and that his two lefthanded hitters, Les Powers and Woody Abernathy, will finally gain their customary .300 or better form…”I just can’t figure out why Buck Marrow isn’t winning for us,” he ruminated Friday afternoon, “but I think he needs a few games under a real hot sun…And I don’t think Powers has been warm since he left California last April…He needs hot weather, too.”

On July 14 it was reported that Les was hitting “around .260.” On the 21^st Ray Schalk replaced Heath as manager. As of the 25^th Les was hitting .240. On the 30^th x-rays revealed that Les had been playing for over a week with a broken finger, and he was expected to be out of action for about ten days. On August 11 the Sentinel said that: “During Les Powers’ string of hitless times at bat, a figure bordering around the 50 mark, Les knew very well, without being reminded of it in the papers, of every horse collar he collected."

Les hit just .232/.292/.339 in 514 at-bats in 139 games, with 15 doubles, two triples and 12 homers, and 58 RBI. Red Thisted wrote in the September 15 Sentinel:

The major disappointment from all angles was Les Powers, and this paragraph won’t be news to him because he admits to a bad year himself. He couldn’t cover any ground to speak of around first base and he couldn’t hit consistently. Yet just last winter Bill Terry, who should know, volunteered the information that Powers should be a standout in this class of ball. Whether Powers will ever be able to beat back to stardom is an open question.

From Thisted’s column of January 5, 1941:

One thing the Brewers are NOT going to do is give Powers his free agency, from which status he was signed a year ago and to which he would gladly return. The stationary first sacker received approximately $5,000 for signing with the team (exclusive of salary) and could probably get a quarter of that if he was again released outright and thus had permission to sell his services to the highest bidder.

Mr. Bendinger is not vindictive or he would probably feel like shipping Powers to one of the far corners of the Baseball firmament after watching the Californian’s clumsy efforts all last summer. Instead, Powers will simply be waived out of the league and some team of lower classification will eventually land him for a small sum.

On March 16 the Journal reported that Les had wired new Brewer manager Bill Killefer, asking for permission to come to spring training in Ocala, Florida, to discuss his contract. A week later they reported that he had wired Killefer that he was leaving via automobile and Killefer had said okay. On the 29^th it was announced that Les had been sold on option to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class A-1 Southern Association, two rungs below the American Association.

On April 7 the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that Jack Sanford had almost clinched the Chattanooga first base job over Les; on the 16^th the Milwaukee Sentinel said: “The Brewer skipper expects Les Powers, first baseman sold conditionally to Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago to bounce back soon, but Reindeer Bill keeps insisting that Powers will not play any more for the Brews.”

On April 18 a sporting goods ad appeared in the Washington Reporter offering a Les Powers first baseman’s mitt. On April 26 it was reported that the Lookouts had placed Les on the ten-day injured player suspended list, and the next evening the team notified the Brewers that they were returning him. On May 7 Milwaukee released him. He had gotten into four games for Chattanooga, and went 0-for-3.

From the June 24 San Francisco Chronicle:

Les Powers Named Pilot By Bakersfield

BAKERSFIELD, June 23 (U.P.)—Les Powers, formerly baseball coach at Loyola University and American [?] and National League baseball player, today was appointed player-manager of the Bakersfield Badgers, California State League baseball team.

E. Lee Keyser, general manager of the Bakersfield team, said Powers had been appointed to succeed Frank Morehouse, who resigned because of ill health.

This dropped Les another two notches, to Class C. The Badgers finished in third place and lost in the first round of the playoffs to second-place Santa Barbara. Les hit .299/.373/.389 in 211 at-bats in 59 games, playing himself in the outfield.

Les was let go by Bakersfield during spring training 1942, and he did not catch on with anyone else. His voter’s registration for that year shows an address of 4154 Le Bourget Avenue in Culver City. On August 28 the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story under the headline “Marty Was Seals’ Best Brooder, Says Bobby Johnson,” which included the following:

Another brooder was Les Powers, ex-Seal first baseman. When he wasn’t hitting he was a miserable character…and without a single sympathizer. He came into the dressing room one night after going 0-for-5 and found a piece of crepe hanging from his locker. The next night there was an addition…a hangman’s noose. Then a bottle of poison. Then a cap pistol. Next a razor blade. He could at least destroy himself with a variety of weapons. But the gag went too far when he found a catchers’ mask hanging in his locker.

The night the mask joined the other tools, Powers had blown a ball game by missing a high fly back of first base. The ball sailed up into the stands, but a wind carried it back over the field and the seed eventually hit Powers on the shoulder. When he returned to the dressing room and saw that—the mask—he exploded and offered to fight anybody in the room.

There was no more fooling around with Lester [Leslie]. He was plenty burned up…

That was the last mention of Les I found until March 2, 1944, when the Sporting News reported that he had signed with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, saying: “Powers, out of baseball the last two years because of a rheumatic condition, appears to be sound again.”

Les was hired as a player-coach, under manager Charlie Root. He played in 83 of the team’s 169 games, in right field, at first, and as a pinch-hitter, batting fifth or sixth when he started. He hit .280/.304/.368 in 239 at-bats.

In 1945 Les returned to the Stars, under new manager Buck Fausett; I don’t know if he was still a coach. He played in 118 of the team’s 183 games, mostly in right field but with 20 games at first. He again mostly hit fifth or sixth in the order, but at times third and seventh; he hit .287/.331/.383 in 397 at-bats.

In February 1946, before spring training started, the Stars released Les, ending his playing career. That summer he started working to bring professional baseball to Las Vegas. He and former teammate Newt Kimball attended chamber of commerce meetings to boost the proposed Sunset League and the city’s participation in it. On October 1 the league’s formation was announced, with Les and Newt at the head of the Las Vegas team, Les to be business manager and Newt manager.

In early 1947 a contest was held to choose a team name, and Wranglers was selected. Construction of a new field was announced, as was the fact that one-third of the team’s stock would be sold to the public at $25 a share. The other teams were placed in Reno and four cities in southern California, Anaheim, Riverside, Ontario, and El Centro.

The Sunset League was extremely high-scoring, averaging 7.33 runs per team per game; the Wranglers scored, and gave up, nine runs a game and hit 271 home runs in 140 games. On September 21 the Las Vegas Age reported:

Wrangler Heads Given Vote Of Thanks At Stockholder Meeting

A vote of thanks was voted Business Manager Les Powers, playing manager Newt Kimball and members of the Las Vegas baseball committee following a firey [sic] meeting of the stockholders of the Las Vegas Wranglers of the Sunset League Saturday afternoon in the Elks Hall.

The vote was made after unofficial financial reports indicated that the Wranglers would come out approximately even for the last season and that the Vegans appeared to be the only club in the loop which had done so on the opening season of the Sunset league…

Powers reported that he had accepted a position on the faculty of the Santa Monica, California, high school this semester, and said he would not be able to report to Las Vegas for work with the Wranglers before June 1. Kimball was mentioned as business manager, and there was some discussion as to whether Powers could retain his post as business manager and hold his teaching post at Santa Monica. Nothing definite on either question was made.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 25:

Burt King Named Wrangler Prexy

Burt King, local businessman, was elected president of the Las Vegas baseball club at a meeting of the Wrangler stockholders last night in the Elks hall. He replaces Bill Peccole, former Legion baseball manager and businessman, whose resignation was accepted prior to the election.

The new officers and board of directors, which was increased from three to seven members, met following the election and named Newt Kimball, who managed and played with the Wranglers last season, as business manager. Les Powers, who handled the business side, was named to the newly created post of director…

A vote of thanks was extended to Powers and Kimball by the stockholders for their efficient handling of the past season.

Powers reported that the Wrangler club is being considered by the Sporting News, “the Bible of baseball,” as one of the outstanding “C” class teams for the year of 1947.

Powers also has been nominated by the Sporting News as one of the executives of “C” class baseball for 1947, according to a report from the Sunset league headquarters.

Les’ new position didn’t last long. Same newspaper, November 24:

Les Powers Appointed Sunset Loop President

Les Powers, one-third owner of the Las Vegas Wranglers, today was the new president of the Sunset baseball league, according to a report received here today…

Powers was elected at the annual meeting of the Sunset officials yesterday at Long Beach, California, after the group formally accepted the resignation of Schroeder.

Powers came to Las Vegas last year, and with Newt Kimball, operated the Wrangler club in the Sunset league through the 1947 season. During that time, he presided as business manager. At the end of the diamond sport Powers resumed his teaching duties in Southern California.

During the last meeting of the Wrangler stock owners, however, Powers was named to the new post of director. Today Wrangler officers said Powers probably will resign his job as Wrangler director, as it is expected that the Sunset league president’s job will be a full time position.

Les did resign from the Wranglers. The 1948 season went smoothly, and at the January 1949 league meeting the various team officials gave Les a “vote of thanks for ‘his outstanding work during the past season.’”

The 1949 season was more eventful, though; from the June 22 Riverside Daily Press:

Dons Owner Threatens To Remove Ball Team

Wright Fined By Powers in Fight Over Accusation

By Bob Weide

Sports Editor

There was considerable disagreement today whether the Riverside Dons would play any more baseball games in this city.

Leon Wright, owner of the Dons, issued a statement today in which he said that “the Riverside Dons will no longer play baseball in the city of Riverside.”

Les Powers, president of the Sunset League, countered with a claim that “we’re not going to transfer a game out of Riverside if it can be helped.”

Disagreement as to whether the Dons would play any more games in Riverside was just one part of the argument.

Wright also made the claim that Powers would not be president of the Sunset League after Friday [24^th] when a league meeting is scheduled to be held in Culver City.

“Leon Wright may be right on that prediction, but if I am no longer president it won’t be because of him. I am asking a vote of confidence from the league directors Friday as the result of a nasty accusation by Wright.”

Powers said that he had fined Wright $500 for spreading the word that he (Powers) was trying to peddle the Riverside Baseball Club for $15,000, from which Powers would get a “cut.”

Wright said he had an affidavit to prove that “Powers had made this offer to a prospective purchaser of the team.” He denied he had spread the story among other directors in the league.

“Such a statement is so absurd it needs no comment,” Powers said. “I will lay the facts before the Sunset League directors Friday night, and if I do not receive a vote of confidence in this matter I will resign my job as Sunset League president.

“I will make every effort to keep baseball in Riverside. We feel that, properly operated, Riverside is the best baseball city in the loop.”

In his statement to the Riverside Press and Enterprise, Wright said “it was expected that the Dons would play Saturday, but all efforts to arrange for the re-connection of light and power in Evans Park on a temporary basis have failed.”

“The management and the players both regret that they no longer will play ball before the local fans, but the team will be forced to go on the road for the present. We particularly regret our inability to work with the American Legion next Sunday night in staging the show that has been so carefully arranged by the Drum and Bugle Corps of the Legion.”

Wright said that he would have kept the Dons here if the city would continue to grant extensions of credit to the ball club. The Dons have made no water and light payments since May 4, when the Dons opened the season here against San Bernardino.

Yesterday the City Council recommended that the Dons operate on a “cash and carry” basis with the city as regards light and power at Evans Park. The Board of Public Utilities was expected to take action on the request next week, but today Wright said that “the city told me it would be legally impossible for such an arrangement to be put into effect.”

Wright said that he would play this weekend’s scheduled series with Porterville in the central California city. But League President Powers pointed out that it would be necessary to gain permission of the league directors before such a switch could be made.

Wright said the Dons had spent more money for operation than any other team in the circuit and that it had become “back-breaking.”

Powers, who has enjoyed considerable popularity in his capacity as Sunset League president, said that if Wright declared bankruptcy, the league would petition to become the operator of the team.

He made it clear that the “integrity of the league” as well as his reputation was at stake in the latest of many squabbles between Wright and the league office.

On the 25^th the Daily Press reported on the meeting of the 24^th:

Dons Will Play Ball Tonight in Riverside

Local Group May Get Club; League In Charge Now

There will be baseball tonight in Riverside.

Last night’s Sunset League meeting in Culver City, which lasted until the wee small hours, produced the decision that the Dons will play their next six games at home as scheduled…

For the next six days, at least, the Dons will operate under the sponsorship of the Sunset League. President Les Powers, who received a rousing vote of confidence last night, will operate the team for tonight’s game. He hopes to name a local man, possibly George Jackson, to handle the club’s business affairs for the next few days.

Powers said he hoped a deal could be worked out before the week is over for a group of local businessmen to buy the club from the present major owner, Leon Wright…

Stumbling block is Wright’s asking price of $10,000 in addition to taking over obligation of bills amounting to approximately $12,000.

Meanwhile, President Powers said the league would pay the city the light and water bill amounting to approximately $750, including a deposit. Earlier city officials stated there would be no more baseball here until the bill had been paid.

The Daily Press reported on July 22 that Les would be leaving the Sunset League for “a more lucrative position in baseball;” then on the 27^th they followed up:

…President Les Powers of the league, after being given a vote of confidence, told the directors that he had decided not to resign his post as published earlier.

“The directors were very firm in their request that I do nothing about resigning as President of the League,” Powers explained to the press.

In the August 13 San Diego Union, sports editor Christy Gregg wrote in his “Straight From the Shoulder” column:

Sunset Boss Wars on Prolonged Games

Officials of the National and American Leagues have instructed their umpires to speed up games, thereby following a move launched at the start of the season by a Class C circuit, the Sunset League…any time a Sunset League game lasts more than two hours, the head umpire must submit a report immediately after the game to League President Les Powers…the umps are held responsible for most drawn-out contests, and by studying their reports President Powers uncovers the factors which prolong the games and then takes action…the Pacific Coast League, which produces more than its share of yawn-inspiring marathons, could better itself by adopting Powers’ system…[all ellipses part of original]

On October 4 the Los Angeles Herald ran a feature with various people’s predictions for the Yankees-Dodgers World Series: Ava Gardner, Bob Hope, Joan Crawford, Burt Lancaster…and “Les Powers, president Sunset League—Stengel has got everything he can out of the Yanks and they have the habit of winning, so will do it now.”

He was right.

The 1950 census was taken on April 4 in Culver City. The Powers family is still on Le Bourget Avenue. Les, 40, is listed as “psychology teacher civics” in a public high school; Barbara is 38, daughter Barbara A. is 13, son Leslie E. Jr., listed as a daughter, is 11, and daughter Susan is six.

In August of 1950 Les had another problem to deal with, as reported by sports editor Bill Dow in his “Sports Snorts” column in the September 7 Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The “Tijuana Incident” which disrupted play in some portions of the Sunset league last month has apparently been settled to the satisfaction of all concerned.

The $25 fines levied on each Colt for refusing to play in El Centro on the night of August 19, has been suspended by Les Powers, president of the loop.

An investigation was made by Powers’ office and it was found that the players had not been given meal money for their El Centro stay, no money was issued to them to purchase gasoline so they could continue to Porterville, and salaries were unpaid, but not delinquent. According to baseball law, if a club is on the road the salaries are allowed to become payable when the team reaches home on the 25^th of the month.

Although the $25 fine was suspended, notice was given by the high sachem of the circuit that any similar occurrence will result in a fine of $100 against each player to be deductable from salary.

After an emergency meeting of Powers and civic-minded business men of Tijuana, $500 was raised to send the club to Porterville. In addition each man was given $10 on his salary…

In February 1951 the Sunset League merged with the Arizona-Texas League to create a new 10-team loop called the Southwest International League, with Les as president. There was some drama involved with the merger; Les was against the A-T League’s El Paso team being part of the new league due to travel distances, but the A-T officials insisted El Paso be included. So the other Sunset League teams, and Les, forced out their Porterville, California, franchise to reduce travel to the western end of the new loop.

That summer Les made history, as reported in the August 1 Sporting News:

Negro Softball Ump on Trial in Class C

Emmett Ashford Always in Control of Game; Should Advance to Majors, Says Les Powers

By Ben Foote

PHOENIX, Ariz.

If Emmett Ashford, the 35-year-old Negro who is the first of his race to win an umpire’s assignment in Organized Ball, satisfies diamond customers as well as he has softball customers for 15 years, he will be heard from higher up the ladder than Class C.

Ashford, signed by Les Powers, president of the Southwest International League, took a leave of absence from his U.S. Post Office job for a two-month trial as a baseball umpire.

Powers emphasized that he wasn’t interested in exploiting Ashford, but he wanted to give him a chance in baseball. He had been recognized as the top softball arbiter in Southern California and Arizona for many years…

Since Powers signed him, five cities in the loop have requested his services. He is not expected to work in El Paso, the only city from the solid South in the circuit this year, because Powers feels he should have every chance to go in there as an experienced baseball official.

“Ashford has the makings of a big league umpire,” Powers declared. “I’m putting him on a trial basis now to determine whether he can master the change from softball to baseball. It is not a racial trial. He will get a permanent job on the merits of his work.”

In the August 4 El Paso Herald-Post, sports editor Bob Ingram responded to Ashford’s being kept away from El Paso, in his “As I Was Saying” column:

…I believe the fans here would like to see Umpire Ashford and if he’s as good at calling ‘em as several Negro players who’ve played here this season are at pitching, playing outfield and the infield, he’ll be applau—what am I saying? Nobody applauds an umpire, no matter how good he is.

In December Les resigned as president of the Southwest International League to become the business manager of the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. 1952 would be the PCL’s first season as an “open classification” league, a move the league hoped would lead to becoming a third major league. In January, though, Les got pulled back into another controversy. The five former Arizona-Texas teams in the SIL, with the tie-breaking vote of the new league president, voted to dissolve the league, over the opposition of the five former Sunset teams. The El Paso Herald-Post reported on January 14:

…The legality of the vote and the fact that dissolution of the league did not carry unanimously were questioned by old Sunset League members who called an afternoon rump session and voted Les Powers as president pro-tem of the “Southwest International League.”

Ponder [Dan, outgoing president who cast the deciding vote] said today that he doesn’t believe baseball laws or the courts can force the A-T members to stay in a league with the old Sunset League clubs if they don’t want to.

Ponder talked to George Trautman, minor league president, last week. He said Trautman gave no opinion of the legality of the secession of the A-T clubs. The belief in baseball circles here is that he will keep hands off the dispute.

The Sunset members have called a meeting next Saturday in Santa Monica, Calif., home of Powers, who was president of the Southwest International League last year and recently resigned to accept the business manager’s job of the Hollywood Baseball Club.

Powers said after yesterday’s meeting in Phoenix that the withdrawal of the A-T members was “the most detrimental action in 100 years of baseball.”

Despite Les’ opinion, the Arizona-Texas League reformed and the Southwest International had to scramble for a sixth team. Les floated the idea of having an all-Black team, playing only road games, as the sixth team, a plan that was approved by the other owners, but it did not actually happen. He was elected one of two league vice presidents, a position with no salary. But he was not neglecting his new job; the Sporting News reported on February 27:

Powers Charts Plan to Sell Stars to Fans of Hollywood

Former Player, Psychology Teacher and Manager Says Way to Build Is to Spend

By FRANK FINCH

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.

Likable Les Powers, the new business manager of the Hollywood Stars, this year will attempt to rescue the Twinks from the box office doldrums through the simple expedient of selling baseball to the public.

Powers has not patented snake oil to peddle, nor has he concocted a magical nostrum guaranteed to cure attendance ills, or double your money back. Powers has an idea that an old-fashioned remedy—promotion—will do the job.

“As I see it, and from what I’ve learned from well-informed baseball men, the natural pastime is in for a rough year at the gate,” said Powers, who moved into the Stars’ front office after Danny Menendez bought into the Toledo Mud Hens.

“To keep from going under, many clubs in 1952 will, of necessity, be compelled to step up their promotional programs. This takes money, but it must be spent even if it means curtailing other phases of the club operation.

“Hollywood’s home attendance last year was only 287,977, a slump of 134,412 paid admissions from 1950’s total of 422,389. It is my job to get those people into the habit of coming back to the ball park,” the 40-year-old [42] business manager continued.

“Big business combats loss of income by strengthening its promotional and advertising campaigns. It has to sell its product to survive.

“The same principle applies to baseball. We have a product—baseball—to sell. The baseball bug will bite most anybody, from Junior to Grandma, but it can’t bite ‘em unless we can pull ‘em into the park.”

Powers recently resigned his position as an instructor in psychology and civics at Santa Monica High School to assume his new duties.

In the main, his promotional program embraces such time-tested crowd-pullers as special nights for individual players, nights sponsored by fraternal orders and large industrial firms and other similar stunts.

While these ideas are by no means novel, the point is, Powers avers, that groundwork for these special events at Gilmore Field already is being laid.

“One of the biggest weaknesses of most baseball promotions is that they’re mostly hurry-up affairs conceived on the spur of the moment,” Powers said. “We expect to stage well-planned events. Then, if some special occasion presents itself, we won’t have to handle it on a hit-or-miss basis.”

San Diego Evening Tribune, July 18:

The revival of baseball interest at Gilmore Field is a credit not only to Haney’s hustling team but to the front-office ideas of the Stars’ progressive young general manager, Les Powers…His promotional stunts, which drew some loud laughs early in the year, are really paying off…

In October Les resigned. An October 19 UP report quoted him:

“Despite rumors being circulated, my resignation is not due to dissension between myself and other Hollywood officials. These rumors are completely unfounded,” he said.

“I have been contemplating this move for some time…my departure is entirely on a friendly basis,” he added.

An October 29 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal stated that: “Powers, who owns a thriving electrical appliance business in Santa Monica, said that he had been contemplating leaving the Stars for some time, because of the pressure of personal business interests.” Les’ voter registration showed him living at 402 22^nd Street in Santa Monica from 1952-62.

But Les doesn’t seem to have ever been capable of doing just one thing, and in November he announced that he had organized a tour of the west coast by the Tokyo Giants, which took place that spring. In November the Sporting News mentioned him as a possible candidate “for the newly-created Pacific Coast League office of ‘managing director,’” though it didn’t come to pass.

Les pretty much disappears from the newspapers after that. Les Jr. played outfield and first base for Santa Clara University in 1959 and 1960, and in between the two seasons he played for the Yankees’ team in the Peninsula League, a winter league for minor league and college players. In April 1961 Les Sr. and Jr. both played for the Santa Clara alumni in a game against the varsity.

Les passed away in Santa Monica on November 13, 1978, days after his 69^th birthday.

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