Classic Twins Remembers: Vic Power

As this July, 1962, Twins score book feature makes plain, the art of airbrushing photos was alive and well back in the team's early days. And a lovely job it was with our subject, the flashy-fielding Vic Power, in his pasted over Indians uni. I like the nice Twins logo the artist worked onto the deltoid region! A click on the image makes for easier reading!

Victor Pellot Power was highly out of step with the times, with his candor and independence a source of irritation for his previous employers, including the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. That, plus his tendency to not catch the ball with two hands...

Of course, you had a great chance in the early 1960's of being labeled "uppity" if you weren't shy about dating white women or driving showy Cadillacs. Back in the days when dark skinned men were often confronted with restaurant signs reading "We Don't Serve Blacks," Vic was known for replying "That's OK, I didn't want to eat any Negroes today anyway!"

My oldest brother remembers a visit Power and other Twins made to the Prague Theatre in downtown New Prague in the summer of '63. He doesn't remember Power dispensing any dating advice - just the standard playing tips, eating the right foods, staying in school.

I wish I could have seen this guy play live! Of course, in '63 I was just in the process of getting used to plastic undies and realizing I was a living, breathing entity.

Twinscards - from whence this 1963 Standard Oil Minnesota Twins portrait of Vic Power originates.

Twinkler Out!