Patrick T. Powers (June 27, 1860 β August 29, 1925) was an American
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
executive who served as president of the
Eastern League Eastern League may refer to:
Baseball in the United States
''Most recent leagues listed first''
* Eastern League (1938βpresent), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level
* Eastern League (1916β ...
and founding president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL). Already president of the Eastern League, he was elected by several minor league presidents on September 5, 1901, at the Leland Hotel in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
The purpose of the NAPBL was to keep the uniting minor leagues independent of the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
and
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
, who were engaged in a nasty turf war, stealing players and hurling accusations at each other. By then, the established major National League had abrogated its agreement with the minor leagues when threatened by the American side. After the American League won its equality with the National League, the two major leagues and the minor association led by Powers reestablished a National Agreement. Once again, a system was in place to protect rosters and territories and at the same time feed some players to the National and American Leagues.
Before becoming a league executive, Powers was a team
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activitie ...
including two seasons in the major leagues. In 1890, he led the Rochester Broncos of the
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882β1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902β1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
to a 63β63 record and a fifth-place finish. With the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
in 1892, he finished 8th in the 12-team
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
with a record of 71β80.
There were 35 leagues and 246 professional baseball clubs in the organization. It has continued on as the trade association of those lesser baseball leagues that make up organized baseball. It goes by the aforementioned moniker of Minor League Baseball today, which implies a universality no longer even approximately attained. Once again at the end of the 20th century as at the beginning, there were many independent professional leagues, such as the
Northern League Northern League may refer to:
Sport
Baseball
* Northern League (baseball, 1902β71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971
* Northern League (baseball, 1993β2010), an indep ...
,
Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...
, and
Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico.
The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...
. Those leagues also feed players, albeit many fewer, to the major leagues.
Powers retired from the presidency of the NABPL in 1909, at a time when the Eastern League considered leaving. Michael H. Sexton was chosen to replace Powers as president at the Winter Meetings in 1909. Powers and Sexton have been considered the "fathers" of the current Minor League Baseball, as they thought alike and acted alike, and were in agreement on the path that the organization should take. As a result, Sexton extended the valuable legacy of Powers during the next 24 years.
In 1909, a group of three Eastern League owners attempted to oust Powers as league president, believing that he had not been impartial in his decision making and had made poor decisions when hiring umpires. Powers was reelected after neither his opposition's candidates - James R. Price and
Ed Barrow
Edward Grant Barrow (May 10, 1868 β December 15, 1953) was an American manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He served as the field manager of the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He served as business manager (de facto ...
, gained enough votes to take the presidency. In 1910, Barrow was elected president with 5 votes to Powers 3.
Powers died at the age of 65 in