IN THE PIPELINE:

Marilyn Rowe misses her husband, Don. Thumbing through all of her lovingly kept scrapbooks, it’s easy to understand why.

The former major league baseball player, baseball coach, football coach and tennis teacher was adored by many for his sense of humor, sense of fair play and sense of character. He seems to be smiling in almost every photo, and Marilyn lingers on many of the images, smiling right back.

He passed away about three years ago, but to hear her talk, he’s still very much alive in the Huntington Beach house they shared for about 35 years. I never met Don, but I knew of him, and so when Marilyn asked if I wanted to take a stroll down their personal memory lane, I felt privileged.

Spread out over a table in her well-kept home, Marilyn has proudly splashed dozens of examples of what makes Don’s legacy endure. The aforementioned scrapbooks are bursting with hundreds of articles she dutifully clipped over the course of his checkered sports career. Then there are 8-by-10 glossies, score cards, menus, tickets and dozens of other bits of evidence that bare testament not just to his career, but also to the couple’s relationship.

And, she tells me, this is nothing. The garage is stacked with many more books, and an office features books, signed baseballs and Don’s baseball card collection — teams he played with and guys he knew, neatly preserved in plastic sleeves and binders.

If you didn’t know of Don Rowe, I thought this might be a good opportunity to tell you a bit of his and Marilyn’s story. In an age of cranky pro athletes who more and more seem to become inaccessible to the public, reviewing Don’s life and career is a breath of fresh air.

A star high school athlete in 1950s Compton, in his first year of college he landed a pro baseball contract. From there, the next few years were a blur for him and his soon-to-be wife. The teams whiz by in Marilyn’s scrapbooks, a blur of old-fashioned pennants and uniforms. The Columbus Jets, Waco Pirates, Phoenix Stars, Lincoln Chiefs, Hollywood Stars, Mobile Bears, Long Beach Rockets, Salt Lake City — it is dizzying. In 1957, Don even struck out Ted Williams and kept a note from Ted to prove it.

Then came 1963, and the call to the big leagues. Don found himself in New York, playing for Casey Stengels’ Mets alongside Duke Snider, Gil Hodges and “Marvelous” Marv Throneberry at New York’s Polo Grounds. That season, Don set an odd record: the all-time major league record for most innings pitched without recording a win, loss or save (54 2/3). He even gave up one of Hank Aaron’s 755 home runs. Marilyn recounts the exciting life in New York, and she tears up when she stares at a large color photo of the stylish young couple, posed in front of a ballpark, next to their cherry-red Corvette. Life was good, made all the better by Don’s bigger-than-life personality.

After his baseball career ended in 1966, Don was asked to coach the new J.C. football team at Golden West College. He also, after 13 years, finished college. His education was interrupted many times, but he stayed focused until he earned his diploma. In the early 1980s, the then-California Angels hired Don as a pitching coach for their Redwood Pioneers farm club. Later, he taught physical education at Golden West and then was hired as a coach for the Milwaukee Brewers for eight years (the couple’s daughter and granddaughter also live in Huntington Beach).

Over the years, Don touched many young lives as a coach in Huntington Beach. All you have to do is look through the scrapbooks, and it’s clear — he loved what he did and was loved back for doing it.

Marilyn could talk about Don all day, one senses, and with good reason. He made a positive difference in many places, in her life, and especially here in Huntington Beach.

Marilyn Rowe misses her husband, and though I never met him, I do too.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 11 books. You can write him at [email protected].