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The Only Known Clarence Rowland Single Signed Baseball. Clarence “Pants” Rowland (1878-1969) is recognized as one of the most influential men in baseball history. He was a PCL League president, minor-league owner and manager, major-league team executive, scout, umpire, and the unlikeliest manager of a World Series Championship in history. Rowland managed the Chicago White Sox from 1915-1918 and won the World Series in 1917. White Sox owner Charles Comiskey first met Rowland when he was a 24 year hotel bellhop looking to build up a local baseball franchise (Dubuque Shamrocks). Comiskey immediately took a liking to Rowland because his wife was from Dubuque and he played minor league ball there. Comiskey oversaw Rowland manage several minor league teams in the Sox organization over the next decade and was greatly impressed with his aggressiveness and judgement. That’s when lightning struck, on December 17, 1914, Rowland was named manager of the Chicago White Sox. Who? A bush leaguer. A saloonkeeper. A 36-year-old unknown who had never managed above Class B and never won a pennant even deep in the bushes. Never played or coached in the majors. One newspaper wise guy sniped, “He probably learned all he knows about ball from the ‘Rollo Books’ or ‘Alice in Wonderland”. Comiskey thought Rowland was particularly good at picking ball players and sent quite a few up to the White Sox including Hall of Famers Red Faber and Ray Schalk. As manager, Rowland also helped Comiskey acquire the legendary Joe Jackson, Lefty Williams, Dave Danforth and Chick Gandil to play alongside team veterans: Ed Walsh, Buck Weaver and Reb Russell. The club jelled with Rowland as manager, in his first year the Sox finished 93-61, third in the American League; the next year, he finished second. And in 1917, he led them to a 100-54 record and a World Series title when they beat the New York Giants. After the final game, Rowland told his defeated opponent, “Mr. McGraw, I’m glad we won, but I’m sorry you had to be the one to lose.” McGraw snapped back, “Get away from me, you [expletive] busher.” The next day the Sporting News posted, “So he’s a busher, is he?” above a front page photo of Rowland. He was the first Series-winning manager who had never played in the majors. Umpire George Moriarty celebrated the victory in rhyme: “When Rowland, pert and frisky, signed up with Charles Comiskey the wise guys laughed until they had to bawl. But he who laughs the greatest is he who laughs the latest; now Commy laughs the merriest of all.” Unfortunately the merriment didn’t last. Rowland’s “happy little family” fractured into cliques in 1918 — one group around Gandil, another around Collins. World War I delivered the final blow. The federal government issued a “work or fight” order in July to meet manpower needs for the war and decreed that playing baseball was not an essential occupation. Collins and Faber joined the navy, while several teammates — including Jackson, Risberg, and Felsch — found soft jobs in defense plants, where their main duty was playing ball for the company teams. Rowland had only 16 men left on his roster at one point. “Everything went to smash on the Sox team,” the Tribune’s James Crusinberry wrote. The club sank to sixth place, costing Rowland his job. Although it may have been the luckiest break of his life. He walked away with his pants clean, sparing him the infamy of the famous 1919 Black Sox scandal that took place the following season. Rowland was hired several years later by Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley as chief scout and was eventually sent by Wrigley to serve as President of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1942-1954.
Rowland passed away in 1969 and his signature is incredibly rare in any variation. This is the only single signed baseball that is known to exist throughout the entire hobby. The blue ballpoint signature is perfectly scripted across the sweet spots and rates a 9/10 in signature strength. Rowland added the inscription, “To Freddie, My Friend” on the north panel. The ball is in near mint condition with light toning. The year “1955” is neatly written on the reverse in period ink. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a single signed baseball from the controversial manager and important baseball figure of the twentieth century. Includes a Full Letter of Authenticity from JSA (#BB11990).
