Rowe was born in Cold Spring Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, in 1854.

[1] Dave Rowe started his professional baseball career playing two games for the Chicago White Stockings of the National League (NL) in 1877.

[3] In 1884, Rowe played for the St. Louis Maroons, which won the Union Association (UA) championship in that league's only year of existence.

He finished his professional baseball playing career in 1892 as a player-manager of the WL's Omaha Omahogs.

[3] In a game on July 24, 1882, Rowe pitched nine innings and allowed 35 runs to score, 12 of them earned, in a loss.