Pete Rose Way

Introduction

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On September 12, 1985 the decision to change Second Street to Pete Rose Way was made. This decision led to some controversy due to the fact that usually the person it was being named after was supposed to be deceased for a year or more. This decision also upset doctors who have been trying to get something in the city named after Dr. Albert B. Sabin. Dr. Sabin, also from Cincinnati, discovered the oral polio vaccine and he has been considered for a naming since 1982. Other than those infractions, people were glad that their local baseball hero was being honored in such a way. This naming took place just a day after Pete Rose hit his 4,192nd hit to beat the major league record. This street also runs by two important stadiums in Cincinnati which are the Great American Ball Park where Pet Rose played and by Paul Brown Stadium where the Cincinnati Bengals play.

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Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Pete Rose was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 14th, 1941. Throughout his youth him and his siblings were always heavily into sports. He always played baseball, but actually really wanted to play football professionally. Certain circumstances lead him towards a baseball career. He started in major league baseball in 1963 for his home team the Cincinnati Reds. In his debut season he was awarded with the national rookie of the year award which was just the start for this young player.

Through the years of 1979-1984 Rose played for the Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons and the Montreal Expos for one season. While playing for the Phillies he had two world series shots, winning the 1980 world series and losing the 1983 world series. During his only season with the Expos he joined Ty Cobb in the 4000-hit club, cementing him as one of the best. After those five years he returned home to the Reds where he surpassed Ty Cobb with a hit record of 4,192 in 1986.

After all those years of playing, the Reds decided to make him manager for the team. The year 1989 will forever be stapled to Rose’s name due to the fact that this is when his legacy started to fall apart. This was the year that he was banned from baseball for life due to betting on the Red’s games regularly. This meant that even though he was one of the greatest players of all time his legacy would never be recognized in the baseball Hall of Fame. He has tried two other times in 1992 and 2015 but was rejected both times. Many people think he should be allowed into the Hall of Fame and that other players in the past have done way worse.

Sources

Biography Reference Center. (2010). Pete rose (biography today) Biography Today.

“ON THE CINCINNATI STREETS, IT'S ROSE 1, SABIN 0.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Sept. 1985,

www.nytimes.com/1985/09/29/us/on-the-cincinnati-streets-it-s-rose-1-sabin-0.html.

“Pete Rose.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 2020, www.espn.com/mlb/player/bio/_/id/397/pete-rose.

Pennington, B. (2013, January 9). Hall of Fame Has Always Made Room for Infamy. Retrieved

March 24, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/sports/baseball/baseball-hall-of-fame-has-always-made-room-for-infamy.html

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pete-Rose

https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/11/whitey-ford-gave-pete-rose-his-charlie-hustle-nickname/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/238923881