Pete Rose as a youngin' (BaseballHistoryNut/Twitter).
Pete Rose has defined the MLB and baseball in America as a whole. Read all about him below. Love sports history content? Find more here.
Where It All Began
Pete Rose was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1941 to Harry Francis and LaVerne Rose. He has a younger brother, David, and two sisters, Caryl and Jacqueline. Pete’s parents encouraged their oldest son to play sports, and he played both baseball and football.
When Rose didn’t make the varsity football squad as a Sophomore in high school, he was so upset about it that he threw in the towel on football and academics. Pete was facing summer school or getting held back a year. Harry and LaVerne went with the latter.
High school players are only eligible to play for four years, so Pete wasn’t eligible as a senior. This may have ended up being a great thing for the oldest Rose child. As a senior, Pete was able to play on a minor league baseball team. Pete’s uncle just happened to be a scout for Cincinnati, helping secure his nephew a slot on the team when the Reds agreed to take a chance.
Charlie Hustle Is Born
Pete Rose “won” the nickname from New York Yankee Whitey Ford. Rose owned his nickname, developing the chip on his shoulder that all the best athletes have. The origin of “Charlie Hustle” varies based on the person. The general consensus is that Ford named him after Pete, who ran to first base after drawing a walk.
Mickey Mantle, also a New York Yankee, had his teammate and bestie’s back, as well as his own ego, claiming the story went a little bit differently. Allegedly, Pete tried to climb a fence to try to get Mantle’s home run ball, which was “about 100 feet” over his head, and this solicited Ford’s “Charlie Hustle.” Either way, the nickname was born.
The hustler’s first season in the MLB in 1963 earned him the “Rookie of the Year Award,” hitting .237. His success would be slightly derailed when he did six months of active duty for the Army. Rose was a cook while serving. That particular skill likely contributed to his luck with the ladies.
After his service, Rose pursued baseball wholeheartedly. He was a Cincinnati Red for 16 seasons before spending five years with the Philadelphia Phillies. After a short time playing Canadian baseball, Pete returned for his second stint with the Reds. He played a total of 24 seasons.
What Made Pete Rose Great?
It would be hard to do Pete Rose’s career justice, but a few choice stats show who he was as a player. He was a 17-time All-Star, a three-time World Series Champion, an NL and World Series MVP, and is memorialized in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, with his number retired in 2016.
It’s not so much what Pete did as how he did it. The thing that made Rose great was his work ethic. As his brother Dave says, he wasn’t a great athlete, not even a great baseball player. It was the dogged determination and hard work he put into his craft that made him great. He wasn’t better than other athletes; he just worked harder. Something else he shares in common with other fantastic athletes.
Pete Rose was not afraid to get dirty; he would never hesitate to do head-first, sliding dives, “pitbulling” his way to first base. However, Rose wasn’t just all grit. He was also highly versatile position-wise and was a bit of a savant, always being able to remember Pitchers’ traits and remembering his own statistics along with everyone else’s.
Last but certainly not least, Pete was described as the “hit king.” Rose had 4,256 hits throughout his career, averaging about 177 hits a year. The most in baseball history. Derek Jeter came the closest with 15 seasons of hitting 177 or more.
Pete Rose The Manager
Rose was dropped from the team in 1986, but he remained the manager until 1989. He was in this position while he was still playing, hanging up the Cincinnati managerial cleats after six seasons. Always one to snag records, Pete Rose ranks fifth in managerial wins in Reds history.
Charlie And His Hustles
An article about the life of Pete Rose would be incomplete without discussing his myriad problematic behaviors. Although they are part of Rose’s personhood, they do not define him. We will list his indiscretions (this is not an exhaustive list, although an Pete Rose amount of effort was made):
The Debauchery:
- Allegedly used cork bats (owners of the bats he used during his playing career had them x-rayed).
- A fine and 30-day suspension as manager for forcibly pushing an umpire twice, sending him several feet backward. The umpire ejected him per the rules, and Pete had to be restrained by multiple coaches so as not to go for the umpire again. Rose swore that the umpire initiated contact, but the league and the umpire disagree. Fans threw objects like radios and cigarette lighters in protest as Pete Rose was removed from the field (of course, not his fault).
- Permanently ineligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame after possibly betting on baseball games while he was manager. An attorney, John Dowd, was hired by the commissioner to investigate potential problematic gambling. The Dowd Report officially says that there is no evidence that Rose bet against the Reds, and no formal finding was ever made about Pete’s gambling, with the agreement that he would agree to go on the ineligible list. Pete and Pete’s brother admit there’s validity to the claim. The commissioner (who died eight days after suspending Rose from the HOF) and Dowd heavily suspected that gambling did occur. Rose has tried to be reinstated five separate times.
- Plead guilty to tax evasion after filing two false income tax returns.
- A paternity suit for a baby Rose fathered most likely when he was married.
- Allegations of statutory rape of a girl in the 1970s—the lawsuit was settled outside of court.
The Other Personal Parts of Pete Rose’s Life
Marriage suited Pete well. He married his first wife, Karolyn Englehardt, in 1964, while he was in the Army. The couple had two children together, Pete Rose Jr. and Fawn, before divorcing in 1980. Rose also fathered another child, Morgan Erin Rubio. He was kind enough to acknowledge that Rubio was his daughter in 1996, 18 years after the paternity suit was filed.
Rose would remarry in 1984, to Ms. Carol Woliung. They had two children, Tyler and Cara. The couple parted ways in 2011.
While still legally married but separated, Pete Rose began his open relationship with Playboy model Kiana Kim in 2009, who is 39 years his junior. The couple have been engaged since 2011, and he has what are described as his stepchildren (despite a marriage to Kiana), Cassie and Ashton. They are still going strong as of 2023, and they may eventually get married too.
Pete Rose Jr. grew up a chip off the old block, playing baseball as well. Junior mostly played in minor league baseball but had a go with the Reds for one season in 1997. You may have seen his daughter, Cara, too. She has had recurring acting roles in soap operas like Passions and Melrose Place.
Dave Rose
Pete Rose’s little brother, Dave, has an interesting take on his relationship with his brother. An interview revealed the less thought-of experience of a professional athlete’s sibling, who is nearly always plunged into the shadow of that person. Dave doesn’t let it get him down, but he has learned over the years that people will try to use him to get to Pete, and he doesn’t love that part.
The two are not particularly close, which Dave isn’t fond of either. He always has to initiate contact with his older brother, always having to make the call since his brother is a “star.” Seeing Pete once a year on his annual publicity tours. He respects and loves his brother, though. Complicated feelings for a complex situation
Dave’s story is a bit of a tragedy in its own right. He was also pursuing his baseball career when that was taken from him. He was the victim of a hit-and-run, deserted by the other driver while he was alone in his totaled vehicle with a broken kneecap. The younger Rose brother was absolutely devastated.
Many people mistake Dave for his older brother; they’re basically twins. We aren’t sure, but it seems Dave may like the identity mix-ups. He works at a restaurant and coaches baseball, choosing to work despite not needing to, afflicted with the same Rose work ethic his father and brother have as well. Dave will brag about his father when given the opportunity, saying he started working at a bank as a custodian and retired as the branch manager. This trait must be in the family gene pool.
What’s that Pesky Pete Up To?
Besides locking it down with a beautiful model, Pete Rose has kept busy since his Cincinnati Managerial days.
Rose has always graced us with interviews on shows like ABC’s Primetime Thursday and the Dan Patrick Show. He is also an author, publishing “My Prison Without Bars” in 2004 (it can be found here on Amazon and is available at many other locations). Rose also appeared on WWE several times between 1998 and 2010, facing the petty wrath of Glenn Jacobs, or “Kane.”
Rose and his better half, Kiana, had a reality show in 2013 called “Pete Rose: Hits & Mrs.” on TLC. They were also in a Super Bowl Sketchers commercial in 2014. The former manager found time to try the position again with a non-MLB team in 2014.
Pete Rose was a color analyst for the MLB at Fox from 2015 to 2017. He also has a lucrative side hustle doing appearances and signing autographs. When he’s not on the media rounds, he devotes quite a bit of time to fighting with the MLB about reinstatement, bringing in a legal team, and everything else.
Where Does That Leave Us?
What is the summation of Pete Rose’s life so far? We don’t always get to pick our heroes. Sometimes they pick us. Name one that’s not a fundamentally flawed human being; we dare you. Just another thought: what is being swept under the rug in the MLB that people aren’t seeing because fingers are arbitrarily pointed at one person?
