LONDON, England – Mike Ross passed away peacefully on April 3, 2020, in London, England. His funeral will take place on April 23 at Mortlake Crematorium, London, England.Born on March 2, 1936 in Portland, son to Edith and James B. Ross, older brother to Leon. Mike attended Deering High School graduating in 1954 after which he went to Syracuse, N.Y. to study graphic design.In 1958 he embarked on a journey to Europe that would be life changing. Arriving in Greenock, Scotland his plan, or no plan, was to travel up to Scandinavia and down to Italy. He painted while he travelled through Europe and was an accomplished water colourist. He showed his paintings atthe Paris Biannual. After a seven month excursion he settled in London.1962 he enrolled into the Royal College of Art. He met his wife and future business partner Ritva. Together they founded the knitwear company Ritva, and produced some of the most innovative knitwear of the period (there is an archive for the business in the Victoria and Albert museum in London). In 1969 Mike began The Ritva Man label initially designing sweaters for his fellow teammates in the Hyde Park softball team he co-founded. Expat and visiting Americans would congregate here on Sundays. In 1971 he launched The Artist Collection sweaters in collaboration with British artists, Elizabeth Frink, David Hockney, Allen Jones and Patrick Hughes. The Ritva shop opened in this year on Hollywood Road, Chelsea, and when their daughter Maija was born the Little Ritva clothing range was launched. Mike never lost touch with his American roots and opened up Bear Creek next door to the Ritva boutique with fellow American John Morris of Woodstock festival fame, where he sold American and Native American memorabilia, jewelry and artifacts. Ritva and Mike separated in the mid 1970s and the business folded in 1980. Mike had a successful foray into the music business where he managed two acts. Meal Ticket and Charlie Dore, leading to recording contracts for both on Island Records and Chrysalis music respectively.In the 1980s he set up a baseball magazine, The Transatlantic Baseball Bulletin. He became a statistical expert on baseball and also began reporting on the World Series for major UK newspapers including The Times, The Independent and The Guardian. In 1992 he became the founding chairman of the British chapter of the Society for Baseball Research (SABR). He relinquished his chairmanship after 20 years at the helm.Throughout the time he continued with his artistic creations and was inspired by Ted Williams to create a sculpture called “Strike Zone”. This was acquired by the Baseball Hall of Fame and is now in their archives. He collaborated with artist Patrick Caufield to produce a baseball themed t-shirt design.He wrote two books: “Baseball” and “Fenway Saved” and contributed to “Ted Williams: A Tribute by Prime/Nolan”.In his later years he took up photography again, he had amassed a large collection throughout his life. An exhibition “Quality of Light” was held at the Maine Jewish Museum In May 2017 showcasing his photos.In the last years of his life Mike suffered from dementia which became debilitating and he had to move into a care home.He is survived by his daughter Maija Ross and many cousins who reside in Maine or Massachusetts.

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