September 9, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
Former London Tigers catcher Rich Rowland died on August 27 at the age of 62.
His son, Robby, shared the news on Instagram.
No cause of death has been released.
Rowland died in his hometown of Cloverdale, Calif.
Prior to suiting up for parts of six major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, Rowland starred north of the border, for the Eastern League’s double-A London Tigers in 1990.
The right-handed hitting catcher also played with the Syracuse Chiefs, then the Toronto Blue Jays’ triple-A affiliate, in 1996.
“Pops, my hero man. My best friend and my role model. Thank you. Words simply cannot express – and if they could I wouldn’t know which ones to use – I just feel so dang blessed to have had the best frickin’ dad a kid could ask for! I love you, pops,” Rowland’s son Robby wrote in a tribute to his father on Instagram on August 28.
Raised in California
Born in Cloverdale Calif., on February 25, 1964, Rowland was a multisport star in high school, earning All-Conference honours in football, basketball and baseball.
In the fall of 1982, he headed to Ventura College where he competed for their baseball team. But after just one year there, he took a job as a lumberjack and heavy equipment operator in the forestry industry and he worked in that position while moonlighting as a catcher for the Cloverdale Merchants senior team.
Rowland’s skills impressed Dan Stacy, his Merchants’ coach, enough that he put in a good word for him with Lefty Olguin, the head coach at Mendocino College in Ukiah, Calif., who offered him a second shot at a college career.
Rowland took advantage of the opportunity and hit .462 for Mendocino in the spring of 1988. This was enough to convince the Detroit Tigers to select the 24-year-old catcher in the 17th round of the MLB draft in 1988.
Pro career begins
Rowland signed with the Tigers and started his pro career with their Rookie Ball affiliate in Bristol, Va., where he hit .274 with four home runs and 41 RBIs in 56 games while supplying strong defence behind the dish.
He was promoted to class-A Fayetteville the following year, where he enjoyed another solid campaign before being elevated to the double-A London Tigers in 1990.
In London, he was one of the team’s best players. For the week of May 7 to May 14, he was named the Eastern League’s Player of the Week after he went 12-for-24 (.500 batting average) with three home runs and seven RBIs in seven games.
“Confidence is the key, and right now things are going well,” Rowland told the Detroit Free Press after receiving the award. “I’m seeing the ball well and being very selective. It’s a matter of concentrating and keeping my head together in the box.”
Approaching mid-June, Rowland was tied for second in the Eastern League in home runs with eight and was fourth in the circuit with 30 RBIs and the Tigers moved him up to the triple-A Toledo Mud Hens on June 12.
Toledo Mud Hens
Rowland continued to excel in triple-A, batting .260 with seven home runs and 22 RBIs in 62 games and he was called up to make his MLB debut that September.
In 1991, Rowland was again assigned to triple-A where he continued to be a steady hitter and he gunned down 51 per cent of runners trying to steal off him. He had another stint with the Tigers that season, batting .250 in four games.
Rowland found himself back in triple-A in 1992, where he put together his best professional season, belting 25 home runs while collecting 82 RBIs in 136 games. For his efforts, he was named to the International League All-Star squad. Unfortunately, his performance earned him just six games in the big leagues that year.
In 1993, he would play 21 games for the Tigers, but again spent the bulk of the season in triple-A, where he clubbed 21 home runs.
Dealt to Red Sox
At the end of spring training in 1994, the Tigers traded Rowland to the Boston Red Sox for fellow catcher John Flaherty.
This turned out to be a big break for Rowland. That year, he played in a career-high 46 MLB games and socked all nine of his big league homers before a players’ strike wiped out the remainder of the season in mid-August.
“I was a victim of the 1994 strike,” Rowland told the author of his SABR bio. “I was on fire at the plate and then (the strike) had to happen.”
Unfortunately, he failed to recapture his 1994 magic with the Red Sox in 1995. He batted .172 in 14 games with them, but was relegated mostly to triple-A Pawtucket.
Signed with Blue Jays
On December 6, 1995, Rowland signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound veteran entered spring training as one of four catchers – along with Charlie O’Brien, Sandy Martinez and Randy Knorr – vying for a spot on the big league roster.
Despite a strong showing in the Grapefruit League, Rowland was one of the team’s last cuts at the end of March. He was assigned to triple-A Syracuse but wanted to talk with Blue Jays GM Gord Ash before he reported.
“He just wanted to be assured that if something happened with the catching situation at the big league club while he’s down there, he would be in our plans,” Ash told the Toronto Sun. “I told him that was very much the case.”
Rowland would serve as the starting catcher for the Chiefs, managed by Richie Hebner. That April, Hebner told the Syracuse Herald-Journal that he felt fortunate to have the 32-year-old Rowland calling pitches.
“That’s something we didn’t have when I got here last year: an experienced catcher,” said Hebner. “That means a lot when it comes to handling the pitching staff.”
Rowland batted .226 with eight home runs and 45 RBIs in 96 games with the Chiefs that season, but he never received a big league call up from the Blue Jays.
He’d play his final pro season with the triple-A Phoenix Firebirds in the San Francisco Giants’ organization in 1997.
Post-playing career
After he hung up his professional playing spikes, Rowland return to Northern California and worked in the timber industry. He also dabbled in woodworking, making tables and chairs.
When he wasn’t working, he could likely be found helping to hone the skills of his two sons – Richie and Robby – who would play professional baseball in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization. Robby was a right-handed pitcher who threw to his dad regularly.
“Damn, we lost a great guy,” Rowland’s former Tigers teammate Cecil Fielder wrote on the Cooperstowners in Canada Facebook page. “May he RIP.”
Rowland is survived by his wife, Carol Ann, and his two sons.
THanks for sharing his story Kevin. Good to read about him
Thanks for reading this, Scott.
Thanks for the memories of Rich Rowland.
Thanks for your support, Bob.