Batting gloves worn by Pete Rose when breaking the hits record sell for $78,000

Pete Rose's red-and-white Mizuno batting gloves, worn during his record-breaking game when he surpassed Ty Cobb's all-time hits record, sold for $78,000 on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Huggins & Scott.

Rose surpassed Cobb's record of 4,191 hits on Sept. 11, 1985, in Cincinnati against the San Diego Padres. At the end of the game, San Diego Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman, a friend of Rose, visited the new hit king in the Reds' locker room looking to do a favor for a Padres executive.

Pete Rose Game Used Batting Gloves — Image Courtesy of Huggins & Scott

"Pete, you've got to give me something from tonight for the (Padres executive)," Coleman told Rose.

"Would this do?" Rose replied.

Rose held up the pair of batting gloves, which he signed and dated. The Padres executive, who had initially hoped to get a game ticket, was stunned when he opened the box containing Rose's batting gloves, which were presented to him by Coleman following the Padres' road trip.

Coleman opened up with, "I didn't get a ticket from the Rose game you asked, but I thought you'd be okay with these."

The executive, who was the auction's consignor, owned the gloves for nearly 40 years until the auction ended on Thursday night. In addition to being signed by Rose, the gloves were photomatched by Sports Investors Authentication (SIA) Photo Match on Aug. 4, 2025.

At a later date, the consignor had a small plaque created to memorialize the gloves in his personal display. The plaque reads, "These are the Mizuno Batting Gloves I Used On September 11, 1985 When I Got The 4,192nd Hit of My Career Which Broke Ty Cobb's All-Time Base Hit Record." Rose later signed the plaque at the bottom in red marker.

September 11, 1985: Pete Rose lays claim to the moniker "Hit King" with his 4,192nd career knock, passing Ty Cobb for the most all-time. #RedsVault pic.twitter.com/jqB5jdANXj
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 11, 2023