From 1963 On: The Highs and Lows of the Historic Career of Pete Rose

If you asked fans of a certain age to point to a date when sports stopped being all about fun and games, they might say Aug. 25, 1989 – the day all-time hits leader Pete Rose accepted a lifetime ban from baseball.

Then 48, Pete Rose had spent at least the previous six months as the subject of an investigation into allegations he bet on baseball, moving his name from the sports pages to the front page. After agreeing to his banishment from the sport, Rose spent much of the next 35 years – until his death last fall – trying to restore his position in the game. And crucial to him, his eligibility for enshrinement into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

On May 13, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred ruled Rose’s death ended his baseball ban, allowing his name to finally be considered to appear on a Hall of Fame ballot in the future.

The years in between were filled with court decisions and controversies for Rose. And just what were some of the twists and turns of his saga? Here’s a timeline of some of the important dates and events of Rose’s illustrious baseball career and post-career, from the glory days to the not-so-glorious days.

April 8, 1963: Peter Edward Rose, a Cincinnati native, makes his major league debut for his hometown Reds.

June 26, 1968: Gets his 1,000th career hit off Dick Selma of the New York Mets.

Sept. 29, 1968: Wins first of three National League batting titles.

June 19, 1973: Records career hit No. 2,000 off Ron Bryant of the San Francisco Giants.

Oct. 22, 1975: Wins World Series MVP as Reds beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games.

Oct. 21, 1976: Wins second consecutive World Series with Reds, sweeping the New York Yankees.

May 5, 1978: Gets 3,000th hit off Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos

Dec. 5, 1978: Signs with Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent.

Oct. 21, 1980: Wins third career World Series, this one with Phillies in six games over Kansas City Royals.

Jan. 20, 1984: Signs with Expos as a free agent.

April 13, 1984: Tallies hit No. 4,000 against Jerry Koosman of the Phillies.

Aug. 16, 1984: Traded to Reds for Tom Lawless. Immediately named player-manager to replace Vern Rapp, who had a 50-70 record.

July 16, 1985: Goes to 17th and final All-Star Game.

Sept. 8, 1985: Gets hit No. 4,191 off Reggie Patterson of the Chicago Cubs, tying Ty Cobb for most MLB hits.

Sept. 11, 1985: Records career hit No. 4,192 off Eric Show of the San Diego Padres to become baseball’s all-time hits leader.

April 14, 1986: Gets final career hit, No. 4,256, off Greg Minton of the Giants.

Nov. 11, 1986: Released by the Reds but remains as team manager.

Feb. 20, 1989: Meets with MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth in New York City.

March 20, 1989: As Ueberroth prepares to leave the commissioner position and hand it over to National League president Bart Giamatti, MLB announces investigation is being conducted to look into allegations of gambling by Rose. A day later, Sports Illustrated publishes a detailed report that outlines allegations of wrongdoings by Rose and his connection to individuals linked to the gambling and drugs scene.

April 1, 1989: Giamatti, who would emerge as a central figure in the Rose case, becomes commissioner.

May 9, 1989: Special investigator John M. Dowd issues investigative report that concludes Rose bet on baseball, including his own Reds, during the 1985 through 1987 seasons. The report notes that “no evidence was discovered that Rose bet against the Cincinnati Reds.” No evidence was found to indicate Rose bet against the Reds.

June 19, 1989: Rose sues Major League Baseball and Giamatti to stop an upcoming hearing. Weeks of legal wrangling ensue.

Aug. 24, 1989: Rose accepts a lifetime ban from baseball after Giamatti agrees not to officially state Rose bet on baseball. Rose was declared permanently ineligible but given the option to later apply for reinstatement.

Sept. 1, 1989: Giamatti dies of a heart attack at age 51.

April 20, 1990: Rose is sentenced to five months in federal prison after admitting to filing false federal income tax returns. As part of his sentencing, he admits to a gambling addiction.

Feb. 4, 1991: The Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors rules Rose’s name will not appear on the ballot when he becomes eligible in December 1991.

Sept. 26, 1997: Rose applies for reinstatement to baseball, but commissioner Bud Selig never issues a ruling. More than two years later, lawyers for Rose met with baseball’s lawyer and again declined to make a ruling.

Early 2004: Rose admits in his autobiography, “My Prison Without Bars,” that he bet on baseball. In a subsequent interview with ABC, he said he bet on his team – the Reds – but never against them.

Fall 2015: Rose meets with Manfred and applies for reinstatement. Manfred later denies the appeal.

Nov. 11, 2022: Rose sends a letter to Manfred, expressing his longing to be in the Hall of Fame and asks for his name to be on the ballot. Manfred lets Rose know that decision rests with the Hall of Fame itself and that he would not reverse Rose's ineligibility.

Sept. 30, 2024: Rose dies of natural causes in Las Vegas at age 83.

December 2024: Fawn Rose, joined by family attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, meets with Manfred and asks for her father to be removed from the permanently ineligible list.

Feb. 28, 2025: President Trump announces on social media that he intends to pardon Trump, though pardon would not reinstate Rose’s Hall of Fame eligibility.

April 16, 2025: Manfred and Trump meet at the White House, and Rose is among the topics discussed.

May 13, 2025: Manfred rules that Rose and 16 other deceased individuals on the permanently ineligible list will be reinstated.

“In my view,” Manfred wrote in a letter to Lenkov, “once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.”

May 14, 2025: The Hall of Fame announces that Rose and other reinstated individuals are eligible to be considered for induction.

“The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration,” Hall of Fame chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement. “Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered. The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee -- which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 -- to vote on when it meets next in December 2027.”

From 1963 On: The Highs and Lows of the Historic Career of Pete Rose – On and Off Field

Related Pete Rose Stories