Thomas Francis Power (1869 – February 25, 1898) was an American professional

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 ...

player who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for one season. In 1890, he played primarily as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

, but also played as a second baseman, for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

of the American Association.

Career

Thomas Francis Power was born in 1869 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. He began his professional baseball career in 1888, with his hometown San Francisco Haverlys of the California League (CL) at the age of 19. In the following season, he split time between San Francisco and the

Stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpare ...

team of the CL. He began the 1890 baseball season with the Baltimore Orioles of the Atlantic Association, before making his MLB debut on August 27 with the

of the American Association and stayed with the team through the conclusion of the season. This was his only MLB experience and his final MLB-career totals include a .208

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

, 11

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, six

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

, and six stolen bases in 38 games played. In 1891, he played with, and for part of the season, managed the Rochester Hop Bitters of the

Eastern Association The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian m ...

. He played for the

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

Colonels of CL during the 1891 season as well. He began the 1892 season with the Troy Trojans of the Eastern League (EL) before returning to California and played for two area teams; the Oakland Morans of the Central California League San Francisco Metropolitans of the CL. He stayed in the CL in 1893 and played for the San Francisco Friscos, then returned to the EL, playing for the Binghamton Bingoes/Allentown Buffaloes and the Syracuse Stars. Powers stayed with the Stars to begin the 1895 season, then moved back to California to play for a California Winter League team in San Francisco. He did not play another season in professional baseball.

Death

On February 25, 1898, Powers died of consumption at his home in San Francisco, and is interred at

Holy Cross Cemetery Holy Cross Cemetery may refer to: United States California *Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California) *Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California * Holy Cross Cemetery (Menlo Park, California) * Holy Cross Cemetery (Pomona, California) *Holy C ...

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924. W ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Tom 19th-century baseball players Baltimore Orioles (AA) players Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from San Francisco 1898 deaths San Francisco Haverlys players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Oakland Colonels players Rochester Hop Bitters players San Francisco Metropolitans players Oakland Morans players Troy Trojans (minor league) players San Francisco Friscos players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Binghamton Bingoes players Allentown Buffaloes players Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California) 1869 births Baltimore Orioles (Atlantic Association) players 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in California