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John Powell (March 25, 1860 - March 16, 1947) was a Welsh association footballer who played as defender for Newton Heath in the late 1880s.
Powell was in Wrexham was born and began his football career in 1879 with the Druids, with whom he won the Welsh Cup three times and reached the final twice. In October 1883, he joined the Bolton Wanderers, becoming the first Welsh player to move to England as part of a professional football career; however, the professionalism was not legalized until July 1885, and he had to leave the club after 21 months. After moving to Manchester to work at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's wagon factory in Newton Heath as a fitter, he joined the company's football team and played in their first major competitive game, an FA Cup
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First round game against the Fleetwood Rangers on October 30, 1886; the game ended in a 2-2 draw but Newton Heath was eliminated after refusing to play in extra time. Powell quickly became the club's first-choice right-back and was named club captain in 1887. With one exception, he played in all of Newton Heath's first season of organized league football, 1888-89, when the title "The Combination" was awarded, although not all teams had completed their fixtures. The following year, Newton Heath's first season at the FA, Powell and colleague John Mitchell changed sides, with Powell taking the lead as left-back. It was Powell's last full season, however, as he only played four more games from 1890-91. His last appearance in qualifying for the FA Cup in the second round of qualifying against the Bootle Reserves on October 25, 1890. He was replaced by George Evans as captain before he resigned at the end of the season. Powell has made 15 appearances for Wales over the course of his career, including five at Newton Heath. After retiring from football, Powell continued to work for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway before obtaining a pub license in Manchester and later in Wrexham.