David Rowan (born David Drohan, December 6, 1882 – July 30, 1955) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

who played for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in 1911. A native of

Elora, Ontario Elora is a community in the township of Centre Wellington, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its 19th-century limestone architecture and the geographically significant Elora Gorge. Elora is no longer an independent en ...

, Canada, the 28-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

stood 5'11" and weighed 175 lbs. Rowan spent about a month with St. Louis, playing in his first game May 27 and his last on June 22. He appeared in 18 games and hit .385 (25-for-65) with 11

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

and 7

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

. He drew 4 walks which pushed his

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

up to .420. At first base he handled 172 out of 182

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

successfully for a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

of .945, which was well below the league average at the time. Rowan's minor league career spanned ten seasons, from until . He also managed the minor league

Peoria Distillers The Peoria Distillers were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1917. They played in the Western Association from 1894 to 1896; the Central League in 1900, 1904 and 1917; the Western League from 1902 to 1903; and the ...

in and and the

Peterborough Whitecaps Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 19 ...

in . Rowan died at the age of 72 in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada.

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1882 births 1955 deaths Aberdeen Harbor Grays players Baseball people from Ontario Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Canada St. Louis Browns players People from Centre Wellington Minor league baseball managers Everett Smokestackers players Spokane Indians players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Grays Harbor Grays players Seattle Siwashes players Peoria Distillers players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Mobile Sea Gulls players Dubuque Dubs players Springfield Watchmakers players {{baseball-first-baseman-stub