serve an ultimatum on the majors. If they did not receive an exemption from the player draft, the PCL would declare itself the third major league, operating as an "outlaw" league. "We're all living or dying together in this deal, and if the majors won't go along, to hell with 'em", said C. L. "Brick" Laws, owner of the Oakland team in a TIME Magazine story on the PCL. Without the blessings of major league baseball, and with the implied threat they could come into the PCL at any time with one of their clubs, or an expansion club, Rowland was not able to secure the backing for any of his teams which would bring both facilities and teams up to major league standards. Rowland stepped down as PCL president at the close of the 1954 seasons after 11 seasons in office. He then returned to the Cubs as a vice president and was VP emeritus of the club at the time of his death at age 91. Managerial record Death Rowland died in Chicago, the hometown of the team he managed. He is interred in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. Legacy Rowland was a 1964 inductee in the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2005. References External links Baseball-Reference.com – managing record Minor League News – Biography and PCL Hall of Fame induction 1878 births 1969 deaths Minor league baseball executives Baseball managers Chicago Cubs executives Chicago Cubs scouts Chicago White Sox managers People from Platteville, Wisconsin Minor league baseball managers World Series-winning managers Burials at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (Alsip, Illinois)