Ron Fowler: How Lincoln City’s underdog appeal attracted former MLB Padres owner

It was less than 10 years ago that Lincoln were playing in the National Football League – after spending six seasons in England’s fifth tier – before two promotions in three years brought them back to League One in 2019.

Fowler first bought a minority stake in the club in April 2024, and they are now pushing for promotion to the division which will require levels of investment and player recruitment unlike anything their previous successes have needed.

What Fowler brings is elite sports knowledge, having been heavily involved with the Padres for a decade after heading up a group that took control of the MLB team in 2012.

He served as CEO there until 2020, then assumed the position of Vice President before his involvement with the club ended in 2022.

His vast experience in an organization last year worth $1.95bn (about £1.43bn) has helped him quickly navigate the lower levels of English football where such large sums of money do not exist.

Deloitte, in its annual analysis of football’s financial situation,, external Last year, it found that League One clubs posted an average pre-tax loss of £5.2m.

Lincoln’s latest available accounts relating to the 2024-25 season showed they lost just under £2.9m in a year in which they made a club record £8.5m.

When asked what he could take from his time with the Padres and the NFL to use in Lincoln and in the NFL, Fowler said: “The biggest thing is there are all kinds of crazy owners.

“There have been a lot of crazy owners in baseball, and some of them have done unexpected things, and it seems, based on what I’ve seen and heard and read, that there’s a lot of that in the NL, especially in the Premier League.”

“I think we have a mind here and we will continue to have a mind.”