Pete Rose
Baseball's career hits leader (4,256) and former Cincinnati Reds manager
- Entries
- 12
- On the record
- 7
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- May 13, 2025
The record
Pete Rose is Major League Baseball's career leader in hits, with 4,256, and when he was banned in August 1989 he held 19 major league records, the Associated Press reported. He was then managing the Cincinnati Reds. At his own news conference that day he denied betting on baseball, admitted betting on other sports and said he would apply for reinstatement after the required year.
His record after the ban runs through courts and the commissioner's office. He served five months in federal prison on a tax conviction and was released in January 1991. In 2015 ESPN published entries from a notebook seized in a 1989 federal raid, showing bets on the Reds in 1986 while he was a player-manager, and Commissioner Rob Manfred rejected his application for reinstatement that December.
The Reds retired his No. 14 and inducted him into their Hall of Fame in June 2016, with MLB's clearance. He died on September 30, 2024, at 83. In May 2025 Manfred ruled that permanent ineligibility ends at death, opening a path to a Classic Baseball Era Committee vote in December 2027. ESPN reported that the earliest he could be enshrined in the Hall of Fame is summer 2028, if elected.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Ruled
Commissioner Manfred removed Rose from the permanently ineligible list, ruling bans end at death, per ESPN. Biggest sports betting scandals ranked: Pete Rose, Black Sox
- Admitted
Said on ESPN Radio's Dan Patrick Show he bet on the Reds every night while managing, per the Associated Press. Biggest sports betting scandals ranked: Pete Rose, Black Sox
- Ruled
Signed agreement with Commissioner Giamatti placing Rose on the permanently ineligible list; neither admits nor denies betting. Biggest sports betting scandals ranked: Pete Rose, Black Sox
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 1989-08-24 Ruled Commissioner Bart Giamatti banned Rose for life, saying he had concluded Rose bet on baseball and on his own team. Rose said at a Cincinnati news conference that he did not bet on baseball, admitted betting on other sports, and agreed to drop his federal lawsuit against Giamatti. Associated Press report via the Los Angeles Times
- 1991-01-07 Reported Rose was released from the minimum-security federal prison in Marion, Illinois, after five months for a federal tax conviction, and reported the same day to a Cincinnati halfway house. His sentence also required 1,000 hours of community service. ESPN Classic report
- 2015-06-22 Reported ESPN reported that a notebook seized by postal inspectors in a 1989 raid records Rose betting on the Reds on 21 days between March and July 1986, while he was a player-manager, with no bets against his team. Through his lawyer Rose declined to comment on matters relating to reinstatement; in April 2015 he had said he never bet as a player. ESPN Outside the Lines report
- 2015-12-14 Ruled Commissioner Rob Manfred rejected Rose's application for reinstatement, citing his continued legal betting on baseball, his initial denial of it in their interview, and a lack of understanding of his wrongful conduct. Manfred said Hall of Fame eligibility was a question for a different forum. ESPN report
- 2016 Filed Rose sued John Dowd for defamation in federal court in Eastern Pennsylvania over remarks Dowd made in a 2015 radio interview. Rose denied Dowd's claims. ESPN report
- 2016-06-26 Official The Reds retired Rose's No. 14 at a pregame ceremony, a day after inducting him into the team Hall of Fame. The celebration had to be cleared by MLB because of his lifetime ban. ESPN report
- 2017-12-15 Ruled The defamation suit against Dowd was dismissed with prejudice after the two sides reached an agreement before Rose was deposed. No other terms were disclosed. ESPN report
- 2024-09-30 Reported Rose died at age 83. ESPN report
- 2025-05-13 Official After Manfred ended permanent ineligibility at death, the Hall of Fame's Historical Overview Committee became responsible for the Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot, which votes in December 2027; the earliest Rose could be enshrined is summer 2028 if elected. ESPN report
Documents
Sources behind this file
- ESPN report on MLB's 2025 reinstatements
- Associated Press report on MLB's 2025 reinstatements
- Second Circuit opinion in United States v. Battista
- ESPN report on Donaghy's sentence
- New York Daily News report on Donaghy's plea
- CNN report on Donaghy's guilty plea
- Associated Press report on Rose's Dan Patrick Show interview
- ESPN Classic report on the Black Sox ban
- Los Angeles Times report on Rose's ban
- Rose/Giamatti Agreement and Resolution