Clarence H. Rowland
Clarence H. Rowland, also known by his nickname "Pants" was the most controversial of Pacific Coast League presidents.
In his day, he had been a bartender, an umpire, and a rather unsuccessful player. Prior to his presidency of the PCL, he was a team president for the San Diego Padres of the PCL.
He stood up to the mighty Kennisaw Mountain Landis and the MLB baseball establishment, fighting for his owners to get better compensation for MLB's pilferage of prospects the likes of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.
After WWII, when California swelled with new immigrants and post-war prosperity, Rowland tried to establish the PCL as a third major league. He even petitioned Ford Frick, the commissioner replacing Landis, and the owners for the right to become the third leg of the MLB empire.
His dreams though, were dashed by Ford Frick, the next commissioner, and the owners, when they dispatched, in sequence, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants and bought interests in the Los Angeles Angels and the San Diego Padres to crush the PCL and take the market for themselves.
Rowland was named to the PCL Hall of Fame in 2005.
