Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, passed away Monday at the age of 83, the Cincinnati Reds confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. No cause of death was provided.
Rose, who set an enduring record with 4,256 career hits, saw his legacy marred after a 1989 investigation revealed that he had bet on games involving the Reds while he was managing the team. That scandal led to a lifetime ban from baseball. In exchange for agreeing to the ban, Rose avoided a formal determination on whether he had bet on baseball by MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.
Just one week after the agreement, Giamatti died on Sept. 1, 1989. Over the subsequent 33 years, three successive MLB commissioners—Fay Vincent, Bud Selig, and Rob Manfred—refused to overturn Rose’s ban, leaving him ineligible for the Hall of Fame, much to the frustration of his supporters.
Rose’s ban has stirred controversy in recent years, especially after a 2018 Supreme Court ruling legalized sports gambling in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Critics argue that MLB’s partnerships with betting companies stand in contrast to Rose’s harsh punishment. However, MLB and other leagues have maintained strict penalties for players found betting on games, including lifetime bans for offenses similar to Rose’s.
In his later years, Rose resided in Las Vegas, capitalizing on his fame by signing autographs and maintaining a presence in baseball circles. One of his last public appearances was at the Hall of Fame induction weekend in Cooperstown, New York, where he often hosted autograph signings despite his exclusion from the Hall itself.
Rose’s playing career was legendary, spanning 24 seasons with stints in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Montreal. He earned the nickname “Charlie Hustle” for his aggressive style on the field and set numerous records, including Ty Cobb’s career hits record, which he surpassed on Sept. 11, 1985, with a single against the San Diego Padres. Rose retired as a player in 1986, having also served as player-manager for the Reds since 1984.
However, Rose’s managerial career ended in disgrace in 1989 when an investigation, led by former DOJ attorney John Dowd, revealed that he had bet on baseball. Rose spent five months in federal prison from 1990 to 1991 for tax evasion.
Although Rose frequently campaigned for reinstatement, his efforts were undermined by the damning 225-page Dowd Report, which included evidence such as betting slips and witness testimony. In his 2004 autobiography, My Prison Without Bars, Rose admitted to betting on games he managed but showed little remorse, stating: “I’m sure that I’m supposed to act all sorry or sad or guilty now that I’ve accepted that I’ve done something wrong. But you see, I’m just not built that way.”
Even in retirement, controversy followed Rose. In 2017, he faced allegations from a woman who claimed they had an inappropriate relationship in 1973, when she was 14. Rose acknowledged the relationship but insisted it began when she was 16, the legal age of consent in Ohio. In 2022, when questioned about the allegation at a ceremony honoring the 1980 Phillies, Rose dismissed it, saying, “It was 55 years ago, babe.”
Despite his personal and legal troubles, Rose’s career stats remain unparalleled. He holds records for most games played (3,562), most plate appearances (15,890), most at-bats (14,053), and, of course, most hits (4,256). He was a key figure in Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” teams of the 1970s, winning two World Series championships and being named MVP of the 1975 Series. Rose added another championship with the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies.
Above all, Rose was synonymous with the Reds. A Cincinnati native, he returned to his hometown team in 1984 to begin his tenure as player-manager. Although his time in baseball ended in scandal, his impact on the game will be remembered for generations.