Sports

VIC POWER DEAD AT 78

Vic Power, the flashy first baseman who almost became the first black player for the Yankees, died yesterday. He was 78.

Power, one of the major leagues’ first Hispanic players, died of cancer in a hospital in suburban San Juan, said his sister, Carmen Pellot Power.

A native of Puerto Rico who won seven Gold Gloves from 1958-64, Power was drafted by the Yankees in 1953 and batted .349 for the Bombers’ farm team in Kansas City, where he played alongside Elston Howard.

In 1953, the Yankees had no black players on their roster. Still, they had just won their fifth straight World Series and it was believed that GM George Weiss had no intention of integrating his team. Despite mounting pressure from outside the organization that saw pickets around Yankee Stadium, the Yankees traded Power to the Philadelphia Athletics on Dec. 16, 1953.

According to Kansas City baseball icon Buck O’Neil, the Yankees traded the flamboyant Power because he “didn’t fit the Yankee image.”

O’Neil said Power loved driving a Cadillac convertible and was spotted driving with “a white woman” – although, O’Neil said, she actually was a light-skinned black woman.

The Yankees said Power didn’t hustle. Speaking years later about the trade, Power said the Yankees “were just looking for excuses.”

“I did everything they wanted me to do, except mow the lawn,” he added.

Said former Yankee Andy Carey of Power, “He was a great player, but he never knew when to keep his mouth shut. He was the only person, if he was in a fight, nobody would want to help.”

Power played for the A’s in 1954, one year before Howard joined the Yankees. In 12 major-league seasons, Power batted .284 with 126 home runs and 658 RBIs, and played on four All-Star teams.

In 1958, the Athletics traded Power to the Indians in a deal that brought Roger Maris to Kansas City. Two years later, Maris was traded to the Yankees.

Power achieved a rare feat in 1958, becoming one among only a handful of players to steal home two times in the same game. Power had only three steals the whole season.

Power also played for the Twins, the Angels and Phillies, and finished his career with California in 1965. He later played first and third base and worked as a manager in the Puerto Rican league. With AP