Pete Rose strikes out...
This was the day that Pete Rose went down in flames. The year was 1989 and Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti had seen enough evidence that Rose had bet on his own sport and an admission from Rose closed the deal. Pete Rose would be banned permanently from baseball. While Rose continues to seek reinstatement to the Hall of Fame, he's been denied admittance on each occasion. If you're wondering what Rose's mindset is these days, read on...
Pete's son Pete Jr. whose playing career did not mirror dad's, never-the-less has copied the old man's more notorious traits. Pete Rose, Jr. has had several run-ins with the law with multiple drug arrests, most recently serving time in prison just last month. Prior to junior's jailing, Pete Rose Sr. gave a speech to his son's minor league team in which he stated that if a player has a choice between betting on baseball or using drugs, that he should use drugs, because Major League Baseball continues to welcome back with open arms, players who have been suspended repeatedly for drug offenses (Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, the late Steve Howe, etc.) while those who have been found to have gambled on baseball while still a part of it have faced intense scrutiny and lifetime bans despite numerous appeals for reinstatement...
You'll notice there's not even a hint of remorse in that statement. Another reason to keep Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame forever. Read about the aftermath of Rose's banning in 1989 in my commentary...
Ten Timeline Memories...
01) [1814] British forces invade Washington (DC) and set fire to the Capitol and the White House (those dirty redcoats will get it...just wait)...
02) [1880] Joshua Lionel Cowen was born. If his middle name looks familiar, he was the inventor of the miniature electric train...
03) [1967] Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles dies of a drug overdose at the age of 32...
04) [1968] To celebrate his 24th birthday a day earlier, Keith Moon of The Who drives a Lincoln Continental into a Holiday Inn swimming pool in Flint (MI) (10 years later he will die from a drug overdose)...
05) [1973] ("I don't want to work. I just want to bang on the drum all day") Todd Rundgren must have had John Adams in mind when writing that weekend getaway song. John is in his umpteenth year beating his drum in the rightfield stands (between sections 182 & 183) in Cleveland. He started in Municipal Stadium and moved to Jacobs Field when the Indians opened their new stadium...
06) [1979] The Cars play a concert for half a million fans in Central Park...
07) [1979] Over 60,000 NFL fans choose the old Patriots (Militia-man) logo over the new one (but with the passing of time, we've grown to love the "new" Elvis logo)...
08) [1981] Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years-to-life for the murder of John Lennon (keep him there)...
09) [1990] A Nevada judge rules that heavy metal group, Judas Priest is not responsible for the suicides of 2 teens (a good ruling in a sad and tragic case)...
10) [1995] Windows '95 goes on sale. Microsoft will spend $300 million on an advertising campaign featuring the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" for which the Stones received some $8 million to $14 million for use of the song...
#1 on this date: 1961] "Wooden Heart" - Joe Dowell...1973] "Brother Louie" - Stories...
On the cover of Rolling Stone on this date: 1978] Bruce Springsteen...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline]...
Commentary...
The exhaustive investigation of Pete Rose would take its toll on Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti, who at 51 died of a sudden heart attack just 8 days following his ruling on Rose. I remember being at Yankee Stadium shortly after he died when Yankee PA announcer Bob Shepard announced a moment of silence for Giamatti. It was deathly silent for several seconds before a leather-lunged fan from section one in the upper deck proclaimed in a booming voice, "Pete Rose is a murderer". Jaws dropped in astonishment at such a wild but amusing proclamation. WCBS-FM's Jeff Mazzei (who celebrated his birthday yesterday) was at that game sitting next to me if you need verification on that...
The other Rose-connected incident that comes to mind is the interview of Rose conducted by my nephew-in-law, Jim Gray who aggressively interviewed Rose in 1999 and tried to pry a confession from him, to no avail, and was widely criticized for badgering Rose. It turns out that Jim had the right idea. Rose would finally admit he bet on baseball in his 2002 book, "My Prison Without Bars"...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...
Dave Chappelle (33), NBA reporter and former Knick-killer Reggie Miller (41), Marlee Matlin (41), Craig Kilborn (44), Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. (46), Gerry Cooney (50), Denver NFL coach Mike Shanahan (54), Joe ("Murphy Brown") Regalbuto (57), Chi-Lite Marshall Thompson (64), Mason Williams (68) and Kenny ("R2-D2") Baker (72)...
[Timeline Countdown: 12 days until Labor Day, 16 days until NFL kickoff, 41 days until MLB playoffs and 129 days remaining in 2006]
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