March of last year marked 50 years since he came off the bench to help Wolves over the line in the League Cup Final victory against Manchester City.
And, in more recent weeks, Powell has had the pleasure of heading Stateside, to Portland in Oregon, to look back on an incredible time in his life, and US football in general, back in 1975.
Powell, along with other former ‘Wolfs’ Peter Withe, Chris Dangerfield and Jimmy ‘Seamus’ Kelly, were back Across the Pond to reflect on a magnificent achievement shared during the first year of the Portland Timbers soccer team, when they won the Western Division of the North American Soccer League (NASL). Timberrr!
A team largely made up of British-based players, then registered knockout victories against arch-rivals Seattle Sounders and St Louis Stars before falling at the final hurdle, and a 2-0 defeat in the final at the hands of Tampa Bay Rowdies in San Jose.
It had been quite the journey however, metaphorically as well as literally, hence why the recent reunion was such a big event and one enjoyed by all who were present.
Albeit it was slightly hastily arranged to the extent that Powell had to rush through his VISA application to get the necessary authorisation barely 48 hours before the trip.
“That was a bit close for a few of us,” he says with a chuckle.
“From that team there were five lads who stayed out in Portland after that first year and five of us, including me, who came back.
“It was the five who stayed out there who were keen to mark the 50th anniversary and from there the club were great with all the arrangements.
“It turned into a fantastic trip.”
There was a strong Midlands connection in the group who went out to represent Portland in that very first season, including Peter Withe, who by that time had spent two years at Molineux, and would later score a European Cup final winner for Villa.
Tipton born Mick Hoban, also previously on Villa’s books, was the Timbers’ first ever signing and met Powell at the airport as he flew in.
There were plenty of special moments, including a cocktail party, dinner at Hoban’s home, Q&A session with the local fans, a tour of the Nike headquarters, and being paraded on the pitch during the Timbers’ 1-1 draw with San Jose Earthquakes.
Powell and company also took the opportunity to meet Timbers current boss Phil Neville – “a nice fella who is doing a very good job” – and got to hear about the multi-million pound expansion planned for their training facility.
“It was great to hear how well things are going for the club, and to bring back memories of that time when we were the very first team to represent them,” Powell explains.
“We literally had a week to prepare when we first linked up all those years ago, so it probably wasn’t a surprise that we lost our first couple of games.
“At the start we had about 6,000 fans watching – by the time we got to the semi-finals, played at our ground, we had 36,000.
Barry Powell
“In the space of three or four months we had shown people what soccer – football – was all about!
“I still remember the game against Seattle as that was a proper rivalry, like Wolves against West Brom, and it was just great to have that experience of getting all the way to a cup final.”
If those two 50-year anniversaries are particularly memorable for Powell to have savoured, his place in Molineux folklore is also assured. And is a rare and impressive story.
A first playing stint having headed to Wolves straight from school then preceded a return at the other end of his career, although he’s one of several to have returned to the club for a second visit.
He also then turned into a coach during that second bite at the cherry, a path which his close pal and former team-mate Geoff Palmer when he helped out Brian Little during his own Molineux renaissance.
But Powell is one of the few to have registered a Wolves’ Wembley win as both player and coach, supporting Graham Turner and Paul Darby on an epic afternoon under the Twin Towers for the Sherpa Van Trophy success against Burnley in 1988.
Incredibly, that came almost 20 years after the Kenilworth-born midfielder first arrived at Wolves as an apprentice, although an apprentice who had big aspirations, and was very keen to learn.