[1] Rowswell, whose previous occupation was as a secretary at Pittsburgh's Third Presbyterian Church,[2] began his broadcasting career in the first decade of the 20th century as announcer on a network program.

[1] He stayed with the team for the rest of his life, delivering the games with a gaudy yet completely infusive and cheerful style[3] that became familiar to Pirates listeners through the WWSW and KDKA airwaves.

[4][5] The hiring of Rowswell was based on his ability as an after dinner speaker, which gained him a reputation in that area, as well as for his notorious prestige as the Pirates number one fan.

[8] He gained notoriety for his pet expressions such "a doozie maroonie", when a Pirate slapped an extra-base hit; the "o-o-l-l-ld dipsy doodle" to remark a breaking pitch that caused a rival batter to strike out, and "put 'em on and take 'em off" to describe a double play.

On other occasions, in case the rival team put on a hitting display, or the Pirates lost the game, he moaned deeply: "Oh!, my achin' back.

At that point, his fellow broadcaster Bob Prince would drop a tray filled with an assortment of noise makers to the ground to simulate the smashing of Aunt Minnie's window.

In fact, during one of his one-sided broadcasts he prompted Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, then commissioner of baseball, to express of him: "Why, they tell me there are people living in Pittsburgh who don't even know the names of the other seven teams in the National League".

His sentimental, optimistic poems were in the same vein as the light verse of Nick Kenny and Edgar Guest, who wrote syndicated columns in the early 20th century.

At the time of his death from uremic poisoning, he was planning to join the Pirates in their Bradenton, Florida spring training camp in preparation for his 20th season of broadcasting.