Old World Pastime – My Great-Great Uncle was a Catcher

John Miller, who is playing and coaching for the Brussels Kangaroos in the Belgian 2nd Division and is a reporter for a big American newspaper, is now also the Little League Commissioner for Belgium. He is also back chronicling the 2010 season in his “Old World Pastime” column on Mister-Baseball.com for a third straight year.

Baseball is the ultimate name-dropper’s sport. We tell stories of the great players we have befriended, seen, and played with and against. “I singled off Carl Pavano in High School…I played for Mark Teixeira’s uncle in legion ball… You should have seen Joel Pineiro in college.”

The connections can be tenuous. On opening day at the Antwerp Eagles, a couple weeks ago, I described to my teammates how Mark McGwire had played on the Eagles’ field in 1984, as a member of Team USA competing in the Intercontinental Cup.

Why are ballplayers such eager boasters? One reason is baseball teams have more players than in any other sport. That expands the total pool of story tellers exponentially. Derek Jeter* had 20 or 30 teammates in college, and, as you read this, each one is telling their nephew, wife or bar pal all about it. “Did I tell you about my buddy who played with Jeter in college?”

But the main reason, I think, is that describing other players is woven into the fabric of the game. It’s not like in basketball where you can tell after a couple trips up the floor whether a guy can handle the ball. Baseball players are more inscrutable. You need stories to pitch, hit and defend opponents. Major League teams employ dozens of scouts to gather those stories.

Last month, I ran into a cool story about a ballplayer when I was visiting grandparents in the U.S. I picked up a tightly-wound red book about my mom’s father’s family. Easily the coolest part of the book: My grandfather’s uncle, William Harrison Rowe, was a minor league catcher in the 1910s.

The author, a great-great aunt of mine, wrote: “He had an outstanding career in baseball, starting professionally in 1906. He was a catcher for the Durham Bulls in 1914, manager of the Greensboro Club in 1915, played at Hopewell, Virginia in 1916 and returned to Durham as a player in 1917. He served as vice president of the Durham Bulls in 1924-1925. The team won the Carolina pennant both years. He was vice president again in 1933. He played several years with the Phillies and with Cleveland.”

I doubt she was a baseball fan, but there is some bragging even in that short paragraph. Baseball-Reference.com is less generous. According to the incomparable baseball website, Rowe played six seasons for five teams between 1909 and 1915. His best years were hitting .333 for Ottawa in the Canadian League in 1912, and .253 for Lynchburg in the Virginia League in 1910, both what were called Class “C” leagues at the time. The year 1914 is missing, so maybe others are, too. No mention of the Bulls, Phillies or Indians.

Not only was Rowe, like me, a light-hitting catcher, but he was born on my birthday, August 18. That much is true.

Did I tell you about my uncle who caught for the Durham Bulls, 75 years before Crash Davis…?

* Friend and baseball aficionado Adam Cohen points out that Jeter did not play in college. He was offered a baseball scholarship by the University of Michigan but chose instead to immediately begin his pro career after the Yankees drafted him sixth. Adam also knows the baseball name game. “I saw Jeter play in the minors,” he says.

Tell me about your links to greatness at oldworldpastime@gmail.com

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