Rose, Pete

Born Peter Edward Rose in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rose is one of four children of parents Harry and LaVerne Rose, who raised their family in the Western Hills working-class area of the city. At a young age Harry encouraged Pete's love for sports, and until his death Harry remained an important influence in his son's sports career.

Pete Rose's ambition for the sport of baseball is evident by his nickname, Charlie Hustle, given to him for his unique grit and energetic playing style. Rose enjoyed an illustrious 26-year career as both a player and manager. However, his career abruptly ended in 1989, after rumors of gambling led him to voluntarily accept a permanent place on Major League Baseball's (MLB) ineligible list. Rose was accused of breaking MLB's Rule 21, which states that any player, umpire, club official, or employee may not bet on any baseball game.

Rose made his debut as a player for the Cincinnati Reds on April 8, 1963, competing against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that same year he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Rose played with the Reds until 1978, the Philadelphia Phillies from 1979 to 1983, and the Montreal Expos in 1984. That year, he rejoined the Reds as both a player and manager. Despite his numerous accolades, Rose became a controversial figure in the sport of baseball.

Three years after his final game as a player on August 17, 1986, Rose was questioned by outgoing MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and his replacement, Bart Giamatti, in February 1989. Rose denied the reports that he bet on baseball, closing the investigation. Once Giamatti was named the MLB commissioner, he retained lawyer John Dowd to investigate charges against Rose. In 1987, Dowd documented Rose's gambling activities for the previous two years, compiling a day-to-day report of his bets. The investigation revealed that Rose bet on 52 Reds games, gambling $10,000 per game. Dowd was not able to provide evidence that Rose bet against his own team.

Rose denied his involvement with gambling, refusing to appear at a hearing with Commissioner Giamatti. The case eventually moved to federal court, where Rose and MLB officials eventually negotiated a settlement. On August 24, 1989, Rose voluntarily agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball, signing a five-page document. In exchange for the ban, he asked MLB officials to refrain from making any formal findings of his gambling on the Reds. Rose adamantly denied gambling on baseball; however, Giamatti said he believed that Rose did gamble. Rose was replaced as Reds manager by Tony Helms. Giamatti died of a sudden heart attack at age 51 on September 1, 1990.

On April 20, 1990, Rose pled guilty to two charges of filing false income-tax returns, withholding information on the income he received from sports memorabilia. He was sentenced to a medium-security prison in Marion, Illinois, for five months and fined $50,000. Rose was later released on January 7, 1991, after paying $366,041 in back taxes and interest. Less than a month later, the Baseball Hall of Fame voted to exclude individuals who are placed on baseball's [Page 822]permanently ineligible list from being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1997, but Commissioner Bud Selig never acted upon his application. After several years of denying his involvement with gambling, Rose publicly admitted to betting on baseball and other sports while playing and managing the Reds in his autobiography My Prison Without Bars, published on January 8, 2004.

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