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2024

Former WR Art Powell
Deserves to be
Inducted Into the
Pro Football
Hall of Fame

Art Powell has the stats. He is more than worthy of joining his constituents already in the hall of fame.

Lived: February 1937 - April 2015
Played: 1959 - 1968

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/VIDEO

LV Raiders: Road to Canton

The Las Vegas Raiders produced a special: Road to Canton. It features Art and CB Eric Allen who is also a finalist for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Las Vegas Raiders: Road to Canton
/VIDEO

The Case For Canton

Art Powell has been eligible to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio for over 50 years. It's been 8 years since his death in 2015. While the vote for Powell put him through a couple of rounds of voting in the Senior Division, he never made it as far as he is today. Art is one of 3 Senior Finalists for the Class of 2024. The final vote will be in January where the selectors will determine the players to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio next August 2024.

This video presentation was designed to present to the Hall of Fame Senior selection committee. It showcases some of Art Powell's achievements on the field.

(Press pause to have more time to read)

/VIDEO

After The Catch

Big wide receivers may be the norm today, but it wasn't in the 1950s and 1960s. Art Powell, at 6'3" and 211 lbs. was a force on the field. Not only did he have skills to make the defense miss, he wasn't easy to take down once they caught him.
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"The only regret I have...was sitting in the stands watching the Raiders play Green Bay (Superbowl II). I know damned well if I was on that field, we would have beaten Green Bay."
– Art Powell

/ARTICLE

Art Powell: Why Historic Wide Receiver belongs in the Hall of Fame

Analysis, Opinion on Pro Football's Inconvenient Truth

by Frank Cooney, NFLDraftScout.com, The Sports Xchange • December 28, 2023

When the Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists were revealed in a one-hour television special on NFL Network December 27, Seniors wide receiver finalist Art Powell was allotted only the fraction of a second it took to say his name in the 58th minute of the program.

Yet even that is far more than his almost total lack of recognition during the 55 years since Powell played his last game in 1968. And many are surprised that he leapfrogged more recognized names in recent months to be one of the three Seniors finalist players.

Suddenly Powell is one of four or five 2024 Hall of Fame wide receiver finalists, including Modern-Era stars Andre Johnson, Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne and returner Devin Hester, who sometimes played wide receiver.

This is reminiscent of an infamous Hall of Fame wide receiver bottleneck about a decade ago involving Cris Carter (Class of 2013), Andre Reed (2014), Tim Brown (2015 and Marvin Harrison (2016).

Now selectors are again struggling to rationalize who, how many and when these three Modern-Era 2024 Class receiver finalists should be inducted. The wide receiver controversy dominates selector conversation in meetings and otherwise.

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ARTICLE

Art Powell: Why he belongs in Hall of Fame

In-depth look at pro football's Inconvenient Truth

by Frank Cooney, NFLDraftScout.com, The Sports Xchange

Art Powell was a tough man who didn’t suffer fools or condone inequities.  He was one of nine siblings in a legendary San Diego sports family, literally the genesis of his athletic greatness.

His father, Elvin, was a tennis champion, scratch golfer, a standout in the Negro baseball league and toured with Satchel Paige's barnstorming team. As a black man, Elvin was unable to participate in major sports leagues or events in Texas. So he moved his growing family from Dallas to San Diego. He emphasized that his children should never condone segregation. His point was well taken, evidenced by how they conducted themselves for the rest of their lives.

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"I wish I could take you back to 1963 because I had one of the greatest receivers who have ever played this game. His first year for me, he carried us."
– Al Davis

/VIDEO

Touchdowns

Powell had the instinct to find the end zone - even somehow missing the goal posts that in the way during his era of pro football. QB #15 was none other than Tom Flores.
/ARTICLE

Art : The Man

Arthur Louis Powell was born on February 25, 1937 in Dallas, Texas. He was number 4 of 9 kids his father Elvin and mother Johnnie Mae had and raised. Elvin exposed his sons to baseball, football, basketball, and track. No matter how tired he was after work, he always made time for his family.

Elvin Powell was an extraordinary athlete in his own right. He was a Texas champion in the Black tennis loop, a scratch golfer (good enough to be on the pro tour), and even excelled in the Negro Baseball League, playing with the Kansas City Monarchs and Dallas Texans. It's easy to see where Art, and his siblings, got their incredible athleticism.

Art Powell viewed his athletic career as only one phase of his life. Even while he was a professional football player, he was very involved in his community. He worked to improve the Black community his entire life.

Art was also a very successful entrepreneur. In 1969, as shown on this page, Art helped establish the Black and Brown Trading Stamp Corporation along with superstar singer James Brown. He also created Powell Chemical which distributed hair products for Blacks, which did quite well. Art owned interest in oil located in Texas as well. The man was dynamic.

Like his parents and the close knit family they raised, Art's family was very important to him. He always gave his time and money to be there for his kids and grandkids.

Art cherished his wife Betty, whom he met in Canada while playing in the CFL after college. To this day, Betty has carried on the love of the family that she and Art created.

Arthur Louis Powell was born on February 25, 1937 in Dallas, Texas. He was number 4 of 9 kids his father Elvin and mother Johnnie Mae had and raised. Elvin exposed his sons to baseball, football, basketball, and track. No matter how tired he was after work, he always made time for his family.

Elvin Powell was an extraordinary athlete in his own right. He was a Texas champion in the Black tennis loop, a scratch golfer (good enough to be on the pro tour), and even excelled in the Negro Baseball League, playing with the Kansas City Monarchs and Dallas Texans. It's easy to see where Art, and his siblings, got their incredible athleticism.

Art Powell viewed his athletic career as only one phase of his life. Even while he was a professional football player, he was very involved in his community. He worked to improve the Black community his entire life.

Art was also a very successful entrepreneur. In 1969, as shown on this page, Art helped establish the Black and Brown Trading Stamp Corporation along with superstar singer James Brown. He also created Powell Chemical which distributed hair products for Blacks, which did quite well. Art owned interest in oil located in Texas as well. The man was dynamic.

Like his parents and the close knit family they raised, Art's family was very important to him. He always gave his time and money to be there for his kids and grandkids.

Art cherished his wife Betty, whom he met in Canada while playing in the CFL after college. To this day, Betty has carried on the love of the family that she and Art created.

/GALLERY
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    "Years later when I made the Hall of Fame...how have they passed on Art? Some things cannot be explained."
    – Fred Biletnikoff

    /ARTICLE

    Powell put his stamp on more than football

    In 1969, along with singer James Brown, Art established The Black and Brown Trading Stamp Corporation in Oakland, California. They saw an opportunity to create and reward loyalty within the Black community through trading stamps featuring Black American icons.

    The first and only icon featured on these stamps was James Brown himself.

    The stamps were issued by Black merchants in Downtown Oakland to provide incentives to local patrons in the Black community. A full book of 50 pages of stamps was worth the equivalent of $3.00 in merchandise. During the first year the effort grew to include 1,000 merchants across California and generated over $1 million dollars in business.

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    "Art had range and he was more like today's big wide receivers who could go deep. He was just a great player."
    – Tom Flores

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