One of baseball’s most popular, outspoken and controversial figures has passed away.
The news of the death of Pete Rose at age 83 closed one of baseball’s most memorable lives. The man who signed more autographs than any Hall of Famer, literally signed until the day before he died.
Rose’s body was found at his home in Las Vegas Monday. He had flown back to Nevada after appearing at a card and autograph show in Nashville alongside other teammates on the 1970s Cincinnati Reds, including Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Tony Perez and Ken Griffey, Sr. Rose was seated in a wheelchair.
Rose’s agent was memorabilia dealer Ryan Fiterman of Fiterman Sports.
One of Pete Rose’s last photos taken yesterday in Nashville #peterose pic.twitter.com/GIY2K18JMB
— Pete Griffin (@thepete2011) September 30, 2024
Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Rose was the hard driving force that helped propel the Reds to greatness. His head first slides and aggressive baserunning made him popular with fans and collectors. He won three batting titles, was selected to the National League All-Star team 17 times and won three World Series championships.
Betting on baseball while serving as manager of the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s led to a permanent ban and he also faced legal troubles in the years following his career.
Rose was a fixture at card shows and other venues during his post-playing days. While those myriad appearances have kept prices fairly low, he remained a popular guest. In July, he appeared at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland.
Wade Boggs, known to talk hitting with Rose when they appeared together at shows, paid tribute via X.
Words can’t describe how I feel right now my Idol and friend growing up wanting to be Pete Rose you’ll be dearly missed my friend RIP my Brother 💔😢 pic.twitter.com/hQfGVgWzxK
— Wade Boggs (@ChickenMan3010) October 1, 2024
While he died not having been inducted into the Hall of Fame, collectors treated him as if he was. His 1963 Topps rookie card and other key cards are among the most popular and valuable of the era. Bidding on Rose cards, signed and unsigned, was heavy into early Tuesday.
While Rose was connected to the sports memorabilia world, over the years he sold off much of his baseball memorabilia, including items used for his record breaking hit that surpassed Ty Cobb and his famed 44-game hitting streak.
Because of his lifetime ban, Rose hadn’t appeared on MLB licensed baseball card products since 1989–something he admitted irked him during a 2013 interview.
However, last spring, Topps was able to put him inside packs of 2024 Bowman, with autographed ‘RetroFractor’ cards being part of the release.
In 2021, Rose spoke with SC Daily’s Tony Reid about his 1963 Topps rookie card, autographs and other topics.
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