I have not doubt that a young Pete Rose heard the story of the Chicago Black Sox when he was growing up. However, it apparently had no effect on him at all. Pete Rose was a cornerstone of the Cincinnati Reds for twenty-three years. He played with them his entire major league baseball career – something you don’t see much of now days. Right before he retired as a player (and for three years afterwards), Rose served as the manager of the Reds.
But, I guess all the fame and glory of his baseball days wasn’t enough because Rose bet on baseball. He was questioned in early 1989 and denied the charges. The commissioner of baseball had lawyer John Dowd comprise a report of Rose’s gambling activities. It showed that he bet on 52 Reds games in 1987 alone.
In 1989, Pete Rose agreed to be placed on baseball’s ineligible list. This meant that there was no formal finding of the gambling allegations and he could apply to be reinstated in a year. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1992, but then-commissioner Fay Vincent never took action on it. He reapplied again in 1997, but then-commissioner Bud Selig did the same thing as Vincent – he ignored it.
To add insult to injury for Rose, in 1992, the Hall of Fame decided to exclude people who were on the permanently ineligible list from being inducted. Guess who was the only living member on that list? Yes, it was Pete Rose. Later in the 90s, the Hall of Fame changed the rules so an ineligible player could appear on the ballot. Names may only appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for fifteen years, beginning five years after the player retires. In 2007, it was exactly 15 years for Rose and his name didn’t appear on the ballot.
Finally, in 2004, Rose wrote the book “My Prison Without Bars,” in which he finally admitted to betting on baseball games. Because Rose has been banned from baseball, the Reds cannot officially retire his #14 jersey. Yet, they have not issued that jersey number to anyone else and it is likely they ever will.
More sports gambling scandals to come!