in the middle of june 1881, powell was recruited by frank bancroft to join the detroit wolverines of the national league. he replaced first baseman lew brown who had been released by the team for alcohol and disciplinary reasons. upon joining the wolverines, powell was described as being six feet tall, "rather spare in build, although weighing 175 pounds, brown hair and eyes and gentlemanly in appearance." in his rookie season at detroit, powell compiled a .338 batting average and .380 on-base percentage, both of which led the detroit team and ranked second in the national league behind cap anson. he stayed with the detroit club for three full seasons, batting .240 in 1882 and .273 in 1883. he also led the national league in 1883 in both double plays (62) and errors at first base (54).