Pete Rose: Baseball's Charlie Hustle
Mike Towle
More than thirteen years after he was banned from Major League Baseball "for life" because of alleged sports gambling, Pete Rose continues to be a colorful and controversial newsmaker. His frequent appeals to commissioner Bug Selig for his reinstatement — a move that likely would finally lead to his being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame — has had the overwhelming support of fans, reflecting the enthusiasm Rose brought to the game and the passion he has generated over the years.
Rose played twenty-four seasons before retiring in 1986 with numerous records, most notably 4,256 career hits, which surpassed the immortal Ty Cobb. Rose also set Major League records for most games played (3,562), most at bats (14,053), most seasons with two hundred or more hits (10), and most winning games played (1,972). During a career with the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, as well as a brief stint with the Montreal Expos, Rose was the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1963 and its Most Valuable Player in 1973, in addition to winning three batting titles and two gold gloves. He also was the World Series MVP with Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" team that won the 1975 series title.
In Pete Rose: Baseball's Charlie Hustle, dozens of the people who know him best — teammates, opposing players, friends, fans, hometown acquaintances, and baseball experts and observers — share their memories of the man and the player. Among the many aspects of Rose's life explored here are his competitive zeal even as a little Leaguer; his athletic success in high school, where he competed against the likes of Roger Staubach; his on-field scrapes and collisions; he leadership role on the Big Red Machine; his leaving the Reds to join the Phillies; his record-setting 44-game hitting streak; his pursuit of Cobb's record; his turbulent days as manager of the Reds; his banishment from baseball; and his various enterprises after baseball.
| MIKE TOWLE is a former sportswriter with The National and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. His books include I Remember Ben Hogan, I Remember Vince Lombardi, and I Remember Walter Payton. Towle is the president of TowleHouse Publishing and lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Holley, and son, Andrew. |
$12.95, Paperback
ISBN-10: 1-58182-353-3 (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-58182-353-0 (Paperback)
Paperback Currently Available
