Ralph Emanuel Rowe (July 14, 1924 – February 29, 1996) was an American

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, and a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

at the Major League level. A native of

Newberry, South Carolina Newberry is a city in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States, in the Piedmont northwest of Columbia. The charter was adopted in 1894. The population was 10,277 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Newberry County; at one time ...

, Rowe threw right-handed, batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed . He was signed at age 17 by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

after graduating from Newberry High School in 1942. Rowe's professional career got off to a rousing start in 1942, when he batted .357 for the Thomasville Hi-Toms, a Cleveland affiliate in the Class D

North Carolina State League The North Carolina State League was a Class D level league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league played from 1913 to 1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in ...

. But he lost the next four full seasons (1943–1946) to military service and, despite batting .360 and leading the 1948 Class B

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

(123), he spent most of his playing career at the Double-A level. Rowe's career reached its apex with a 14-game trial with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in 1949. In 1951, while playing for the

Nashville Vols The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers (regularly shortened to Vols) ...

, Rowe was named to the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

All-Star team. He played in the

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

s of the Indians,

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and Washington Senators through 1958, then became a manager in the Washington/

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

farm system from 1959 to 1971, winning four league championships. His overall record was 836–757 (.525). At age 47, he reached the Major Leagues as a coach, serving for four seasons with the Twins (1972–1975) as their third base coach, and four more (1981–1984) as the batting coach of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. He was a member of the Orioles' staff during their

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

world championship season. Rowe also served as a roving minor league batting coach for the Twins, Orioles, and, after 1984, the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. Rowe moved his family to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, after he played for the baseball Hornets in 1958. While living in Charlotte, he was a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

for the Hornets in 1961, and managed the 1969 Hornets to the Double-A Southern League championship. After returning to his home town of Newberry in 1974, he lived there until his death in 1996 at age 71.

External links

Retrosheet

Baseball Reference

References

* Howe News Bureau, ''1985 Montreal Expos Organization Book.'' St. Petersburg, Florida: The Baseball Library, 1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Ralph 1924 births 1996 deaths Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball players from Newberry County, South Carolina Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Fort Walton Beach Jets players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Macon Peaches players Memphis Chickasaws players Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Minor league baseball managers Missoula Timberjacks players Mobile Bears players Nashville Vols players Newberry College alumni Sportspeople from Newberry, South Carolina Portland Beavers managers Rock Hill Chiefs players Springfield Cubs players Thomasville Hi-Toms players 20th-century American sportsmen