Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame: A Controversial Baseball Legacy

Cooperstown prepares to honor Pete Rose and the new baseball legends

Thousands of fans will gather this weekend in Cooperstown, New York, to pay tribute to the new members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and returning legends. This annual event is a celebration of the sport’s history, with exhibits of artifacts from the greatest players, including MLB’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose. Rose, whose name had never been included on the Hall of Fame ballots, passed away in September at the age of 83. In May, Commissioner Rob Manfred removed Rose and other deceased individuals from the MLB’s ineligible list, making Rose eligible for Hall of Fame election. But Rose’s presence at the Hall’s exhibits did not depend on the commissioner’s action. The legendary “Charlie Hustle” has been present for decades, a constant in the presentation of the game’s history in the museum. The museum exhibits numerous objects donated by Rose, including bats, balls, caps, shoes, and uniforms related to his achievements. These achievements include his 4,256 hits, the record for games played and at-bats, and numerous awards. In addition, he was a 17-time All-Star in a record five positions, won three World Series titles, and called himself the greatest winning player of all time.

MLB banned Rose in 1989 after an investigation revealed that Rose, then manager of the Cincinnati Reds, had bet on the sport and on his own team’s games. Two years later, the Hall of Fame’s board of directors decided that anyone on MLB’s ineligible list would also be ineligible for Hall election. This became known as “the Pete Rose rule”. For nearly 15 years after baseball banned him, Rose repeatedly denied betting on the sport. Before and long after admitting in 2004 to betting on baseball games, including those of the Reds, during part of his tenure as manager in Cincinnati, Rose was a constant figure in Cooperstown during induction weekends, signing and selling his autographs at a memorabilia store. A block away, in the Hall, were Sparky Anderson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Pérez, from the “Big Red Machine” 1975 and 76 championship team with Rose, and Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt, from the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies with whom Rose won a championship, as well as several other teammates from his 24 seasons. The Hall’s “Whole New Ballgame” exhibit, dedicated to the era from 1970 to the present, features a Rose jersey from the 1973 season, when he won the National League MVP award; the ball and a ticket from the 1981 game when he tied Stan Musial’s National League hit record; and a 1978 can of a chocolate-flavored drink called “Pete”, with an action photo of Rose. The Hall section that chronicles many of the game’s most sacred records is titled “One for the Books.” It displays Rose’s shoes and a scorecard from his most important achievement, on September 11, 1985, when he broke Ty Cobb’s career hits record. Also on display are a pair of Rose’s bats from 1978, when he reached the 3,000-hit milestone and then tied Wee Willie Keeler’s 44-game hitting streak from the 1897 National League, and Rose’s 1984 Montreal Expos cap, when he broke Carl Yastrzemski’s games played record. In “Shoebox Treasures”, which examines the baseball card phenomenon, visitors can see Rose’s 1975 Topps card and two Topps cards, one authentic and one counterfeit, from 1963, when he was named National League Rookie of the Year.

There is also an interactive exhibit on the subject of gambling that includes the Rose saga. According to the Hall, its files contain dozens of documents related to Rose, from recorded interviews, including with Howard Stern, to correspondence and collectibles, as well as the investigation file from the 1989 MLB betting investigation of Rose, led by special counsel John Dowd. Rose visited the Hall when he was 26 years old and was a fifth-year star for Cincinnati. It was July 24, 1967, and the Reds toured the museum before losing to the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 in the then-annual Hall of Fame exhibition game, in which Rose went 0-3.

“This is really great,” Rose said as he looked at the Hall, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “This is what baseball is all about.”

Pete Rose

Rose marveled at the multitude of Babe Ruth memorabilia, a member of the inaugural 1936 Cooperstown class, and the vast space specifically for the “Bambino” and his exploits on the diamond and beyond.

The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News columnist, Si Burick, who would eventually be selected for the writers’ wing of the Hall, recounted a moment from the visit in his column the next day: When a stunned Rose was suggested by a colleague that he too could one day grace the Hall of Fame, if he continued at his current pace, the irrepressible Cincinnatian had a typical response. Peter pointed to a cubicle full of Ruth’s gadgets and suggested: “That’s my chance to get in, with my bowling ball.” Ruth’s bowling ball was on display and Rose was a winner four months earlier during spring training at a “Base-Bowl” event at a Tampa bowling alley that paired MLB stars and the Professional Bowlers Association. Rose and Dick Weber beat Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals and Wayne Zahn. Of the four, only Rose is not enshrined in either the Baseball Hall of Fame or the PBA Hall of Fame.

“I have all the records, so you can throw me in the sea, but the records will keep coming to the surface,” Rose said in a 2019 interview for ESPN’s “Backstory” program. “You can go into the Hall of Fame, you see my name everywhere, which is fine. It’s good for me. It’s good for the Hall of Fame. The best thing for baseball is the history of baseball.”

Pete Rose

With Rose now eligible for election, her Hall candidacy must be considered by the Historical Review Committee, which develops a ballot with eight names for the Classic Era Committee, which is scheduled to meet in December 2027. That era committee is in charge of candidates whose greatest impact was before 1980, including Negro Leagues stars and those prior to the Negro Leagues. Its 16 members, comprising Hall of Fame members, executives, and media veterans, are in charge of weighing the resumes, integrity, sportsmanship, and character of the eight candidates: 12 votes are needed for election. The prolonged debates about Rose will surely continue long after 2027. Regardless of whether it is added to the Gallery of Plaques that signify membership in the Hall, there will be 351 plaques as of Sunday, including the five new members of the day, there is no doubt that Rose will continue to have places in the building.