Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending a symposium at the Baseball Hall of Fame on a legendary Oakland coach few know much about. His name is George Powles and he had a hand in the development of a host of major league players, hall-of-famers and civil rights luminaries. There may be something in the water in Oakland that produces such great athletes, but good coaches don't hurt either. Many of us have always known that we have a hotbed of talent in Oakland, but it was great to get some national shine as validation. Check out the Tribune article for full coverage of the symposium. Excerpt below.Also check out Bill Russell's interview with Tavis Smiley HEREUnquestionably, the late Powles (1910-1987) was a towering figure in the Oakland area during the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. As a coach at McClymonds High and the Bill Erwin Post American Legion baseball team, Powles oversaw the development of 17 players who would eventually play major league baseball, including Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Joe Morgan as well as Curt Flood, the man who challenged the reserve clause.
Powles also was a major influence on basketball legend Bill Russell, as well as a number of other prominent African American athletes pre-dating the civil rights movements of the 1960s. Click HERE for full article
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