Skip to content

Athletics' Boog Powell, Orioles legend Boog Powell meet at last

Baltimore Orioles / Twitter

They're two of a kind who share a very unique nickname, but until Tuesday afternoon the only two Boog Powells in MLB history had never crossed paths.

On Monday night, Oakland Athletics rookie outfielder Herschel Mack "Boog" Powell launched his first career homer at Camden Yards - and in fitting fashion, it landed just a few yards away from "Boog's BBQ," the famous sandwich stand operated by his namesake, 1970 AL MVP and legendary Baltimore Orioles slugger John Wesley "Boog" Powell. On Tuesday afternoon, before the A's and Orioles squared off again in the Charm City, Boog Powell and Boog Powell finally met, to smiles all around.

The Boog Powells are not related: 24-year-old Herschel Mack Powell IV earned the nickname in order to differentiate from his father and grandfather who shared the given name, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. So the shared nickname is just a unique coincidence that gave the two ballplayers an instant connection.

"I'm honored that you're carrying my name for all these years," the elder Boog, now 76, told his rookie namesake.

Of course, a meeting of the Boog Powells wouldn't have been complete without Oakland's Boog grabbing one of the Baltimore icon's famous barbecue sandwiches.

Thanks to the power of technology, Tuesday's get-together ended up including a third-generation Boog Powell in Jeffrey, the 12-year-old little leaguer from Tennessee who became an Internet sensation during the Little League World Series. Jeffrey "Boog" Powell joined Herschel Mack and John Wesley via FaceTime, while he was apparently in study hall at school.

Oakland's Boog - who's now only 338 homers shy of tying the record for most long balls hit by someone named Boog Powell - told Slusser his first home run Monday and meeting the "original" Boog on Tuesday are "the top events of (my) life so far."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox