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Pete Rose Died at 83: What We Know

Vaseline October 1, 2024

Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose was found dead Monday at his home in Clark County, Nevada, according to officials there.

The Clark County coroner’s office could not immediately be reached and the county spokeswoman who confirmed Rose’s death did not provide any other details, including cause of death. ABC News reported that a family member found Rose and said the county medical examiner indicated there were no signs of foul play.

The ABC News report also said that Rose, 83, had not been under the care of a doctor at the time of his death. Rose’s home is under investigation and the cause of death is still under investigation.

Although there was no indication that Rose was seriously ill at the time of his death, Rose said in court filings related to his 2018 divorce that he was “in poor health and disabled.” In that same divorce case, Rose’s attorneys said he had trouble walking, was on blood thinners and had undergone three heart procedures in five years.

“His health is deteriorating,” the court documents said.

Despite these health problems, Rose kept a busy schedule and continued to travel around the country, often to sports memorabilia shows. A Facebook post Monday from the Music City Sports Collectibles and Autograph Show in Tennessee included a photo taken Sunday of Rose sitting in a wheelchair surrounded by some of his teammates from his days in Cincinnati with the Big Red Machine.

He died the next day. “Amazing that they all got to see each other one last time,” the post said.

Earlier this year, in April, Rose canceled an appearance at former UC basketball coach Bob Huggins’ annual charitable fundraiser in West Virginia “due to health reasons,” according to a post on the event’s Facebook account. “We send Pete our warmest wishes for a full and speedy recovery,” the post said.

The Cincinnati Reds also confirmed Rose’s death in a statement late Monday. “Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing,” said Reds owner Bob Castellini. “He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for got better because of him. Pete was Red through and through. No one loved the game more than Pete and no one loved Pete more than Reds Country.”

Although the hit leader started his record-setting career in Cincinnati and won two World Series titles here, he had lived for years in Nevada, near Las Vegas, where he owned a now-closed bar and regularly made paid public appearances and signed baseball memorabilia .

Pete Rose HBO documentary

He was recently the subject of an HBO documentary about his life on and off the field, including his ban from baseball due to betting on the game. In an interview with The Enquirer in June, Rose reflected on that life, the consequences of his gambling and his own mortality.

“What, are they waiting for me to die?” Rose said about his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame. “Wouldn’t that be terrible if I died next week and they hired me again next year?”

Rose’s legacy was also on his mind in his final post on social media site X on September 21. The man known to fans as Charlie Hustle wrote about his grandson, a baseball player at La Salle High School, who had recently been featured in a Philadelphia newspaper article. “I couldn’t be more proud of my grandson,” Rose wrote. “Keep busy with baseball in La Salle. #Rose’s legacy lives on.”

According to social media posts associated with Rose, he did not visit Cincinnati until August 14, when his agent posted a photo of Rose giving a thumbs up in front of the statue at Great American Ball Park with its iconic head first slide.

“It was amazing to stand proudly next to him at his legendary prone slide statue in the Hit King’s hometown,” his agent wrote.