Powell was born in Lakeland, Florida; he played for that city\'s team in the 1954 Little League World Series. After his family moved to Key West when he was 15, Powell played at Key West High School and graduated in 1959. He joined the Orioles after leading the International League in home runs at Rochester in 1961. He spent his first three seasons in Baltimore as a slow-footed left fielder before switching to first base in 1965. At the plate he was an immediate success, hitting 25 home runs in 1963; in 1964 he led the American League in slugging percentage (.606) while blasting a career-high 39 home runs despite missing several weeks because of a broken wrist. He slumped to .248 with 17 home runs in 1965, then won the American League Comeback player of the Year honors in 1966 (.287, 34 home runs, 109 runs batted in) while being hampered by a broken finger.\n', '

Powell received the nickname “Boog” from his father. As Powell explained, “In the South they call little kids who are often getting into mischief buggers, and my dad shortened it to Boog.”\n', '

In 1966, Powell, along with Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson, led the Orioles to the 1966 World Series, where they surprised the baseball world by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games to become baseball\'s world champions.\n', '

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