Biography
American major league baseball player for 24 seasons. In the center of
one of the most talked about controversies in baseball history, with an
all-time career record of 4,256 hits, he was a shoe-in for the Baseball
Hall of Fame until 02/20/1089 when investigations began on his gambling
habits. Rose was suspended from baseball on 08/23/1989 for committing
baseball's capital crime: from 1985 through 1987 he bet on his own team.
Rose was sentenced on 07/19/1990 to five months in prison and then,
following his prison time, three months in a half-way house. Rose may
never be able to enter baseball's Hall of Fame. He holds three National
League batting titles, hit .300 nine consecutive seasons and was named MVP
in the 1975 World Series. He holds the National League record as the only
player to play 500 or more games at each of five positions.
Rose has two sisters and a brother. Living in Cincinnati, OH in
comfortable middle-class surroundings, his father, Harry F. Rose, chief
cashier of Union Trust Co., got him into sports early playing catch with
Pete when he was only two. His dad told the Knot Hole League baseball
coach Pete could only play if he could switch hit at nine. Attending
Western Hills High School, Rose played football and baseball and although
he was short and weighed 150 pounds, he could dunk a basketball. He was
considered one of the toughest players in school. After high school Rose
signed with the Cincinnati Reds receiving a $12,000 signing bonus. He
played in Geneva, NY Class D Pony League for 85 games hitting .277 and
committing 36 errors at second base. His spirit and hustle saved him. In
the spring of 1963 he was invited to the Reds training camp and became the
National League Rookie of the Year with 17 of 20 votes. At age 22 he was
uniquely aggressive, totally egocentric and had an instinct for publicity.
Ambitious and selfish, he had little respect for his older teammates and
was given the nickname Charlie Hustle as he ran to first base even when he
got a walk. The winter of 1964-65 he played baseball in Venezuela which
prepared him for playing second base in the 1965 All-Star game, the first
of 17 appearances. He was moved to third base and then the outfield in
1967. He won the NL batting title for the first time in 1969 and signed a
contract for over $100,000, the highest paid in Cincinnati history. In
1978, June 14 through July 31, he tied the NL record for most consecutive
games with one or more hits in a season, 44. "Sporting News"
named him Player of the Decade in 1979. He joined the Philadelphia
Phillies in 1980 through 1983 and became a player-manager for the Reds in
1984 and remained with them through 1989, breaking Ty Cobb's record of
4,191 hits on 9/11/1985.
On 3/20/1989 the Baseball Commissioner's Office began investigating
Rose. On 5/09/1989 a 225 page report on his gambling activities was turned
in and on 8/24/1989 he accepted a lifetime ban from baseball with the
ability to apply for reinstatement after one year. He applied for
reinstatement on 9/26/1997. On 4/21/1990 Rose pled guilty to two charges
of filing false income tax returns not showing income he received from
selling autographs and baseball memorabilia. Rose was sentenced to five
months in federal prison, three months in a halfway house, ordered to
serve 1,000 hours of community service and fined $50,000 on 7/20/1990. He
was released 1/07/1991 after having paid $366,041 in back taxes and
interest on $354,968 of unreported income.
President Jimmy Carter wrote an open letter in "USA Today"
10/30/1995 saying it was time to forgive Pete Rose. Roger Kahn, who wrote
"The Boys of Summer" also wrote Pete's biography,
"Ballplayer!: The Headfirst Life of Peter Edward Rose," and
stated, "after seeing all the evidence, I don't know if Pete Rose bet
on baseball, but I know he was railroaded out of the game."
Rose now lives in Boca Raton, FL where he owns the Pete Rose BallPark
Cafe and has a weekly radio show. He married Karolyn Englehardt 1/25/1964.
They have a daughter, Fawn Renee and son, Pete Rose, Jr., born 1970 who
plays minor league baseball. After divorcing in 1980, Pete seldom got in
touch with them. Carol is Rose's second wife. They have a son Tyler born
early 1985 and daughter Cara born late summer 1989.
It has been reported that he took amphetamines throughout his career
and when he stopped taking them, he gained a good deal of weight. June
1967 he suffered a hurt shoulder and missed 14 games. A fractured left
thumb kept him on the bench for three weeks in 1968. He had knee surgery
7/20/1990 to repair torn cartilage. After serving his prison sentence he
saw a psychiatrist for his gambling addiction.
The end of Rose's career did not benefit a man whose brain had the
power to absorb everything worth knowing about baseball. Unfortunately,
Rose was an amateur human being; the faults associated with such a title
were his ultimate downfall. He was once described as "self-absorbed,
boorish, and heedless." Recently, a movement has begun to elect Rose
to the Hall of Fame. Jimmy Carter, as well as many other big names from
the history of baseball, have joined together to push for Rose's
induction. Until such a time as Rose is inducted and given the proper
credit that he deserves for a phenomenal career, he makes an honest living
hosting a radio show, running a restaurant, tending investments, and
hawking memorabilia.
In mid-December 1999, Rose launched a new campaign to be reinstated
into baseball, claiming to have evidence refuting charges that he bet on
the Cincinnati Reds team that he managed from 1984 to 1989. His mission is
twofold: to get elected to baseball's Hall of Fame, from which he is now
barred, and to once again manage a big-league club and collect a
seven-figure salary.
Top |
|
AstroDatabank offers this
privately-funded forum for astrologers who want to share
astrological insights in a respectful and educational way.
AstroDatabank does not condone or support comments that are
profane, obscene or discriminatory against anyone’s race, color,
religious creed, national origin, ancestry, gender, disability,
sexual orientation, veteran status or any other similar
category. While we make an effort to remove as soon as we can
any comments that we deem inappropriate for these or other
discretionary reasons, we cannot guarantee that we are always
able to do so in a timely way given the nature of the Internet.
However, we reserve the right to remove comments or to block
participation at our sole discretion and at any time. Please
understand that users’ comments are their own and do not reflect
the views, techniques or interpretations of anyone at
AstroDatabank. We hope that you will use this forum to share
your astrological insights with your colleagues in a respectful
manner and that you will enjoy reading others’ comments on the
chart under discussion. For more information, please read our
legal disclaimer and terms of service.
Where do you want to go now?
|
