Pete Rose Gloves: Legendary items sell for $78,000

Pete Rose Gloves Reach Record Price at Auction

The batting gloves used by Pete Rose, during the historic moment when he broke the MLB’s all-time hits record, have been sold for the astonishing sum of $78,000 at auction. This sale sets a new record for a pair of game-used batting gloves. Rose’s historic hit number 4,192, which allowed him to surpass Ty Cobb, occurred on September 11, 1985, at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium, against San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show. A Padres executive, a friend of Rose, requested a game ticket from Jerry Coleman, a renowned commentator. Coleman, also a friend of Rose, congratulated him in the locker room after the achievement.

“Pete, you have to give me something from tonight,” Coleman said to Rose, who offered the batting gloves and agreed to autograph them. Rose signed each glove on the back of the hand, near the thumb, with the inscription “Pete Rose 9-11-85.” The executive kept the gloves for four decades before auctioning them off.

Jerry Coleman

The executive later created a plaque with the inscription: “These are the Mizuno batting gloves I used on September 11, 1985, when I hit the 4,192nd hit of my career, breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time hits record,” which was signed by Rose with a red marker. The gloves have been authenticated via photo-matching by Sports Investors Authentication (SIA Photo Match) to confirm their use in the record-breaking game. Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball in August 1989 for betting on games, and passed away last September at the age of 83. He was selected 17 times for the All-Star Game, won three World Series, was the National League MVP in 1973 and the World Series MVP two years later. Rose holds the Major League record for games played (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890) and holds the National League record for the longest hitting streak (44 games). He was the lead-off hitter for one of baseball’s most formidable teams with the champion Reds teams of 1975 and 1976, with teammates such as Johnny Bench, Tony Pérez and Joe Morgan, members of the Hall of Fame. In May, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred removed Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson from the league’s list of permanently ineligible players.