A wilting Rose

Pete Rose addresses the media 36 years ago after his banishment (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

After weeks of pleading his case to baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti, all-time hits leader Pete Rose agrees to a permanent ban from baseball 36 years ago today for gambling on games.

In return for Rose accepting the ban, Giamatti and Rose’s representatives agree to announce no formal findings of Rose betting on games.

Giamatti, though, promptly tells the media at a New York City press conference that he considers the agreement to be a no-contest plea by Rose, who at the time is the Cincinnati Reds’ manager.

Bart Giamatti announces Pete Rose’s ban

Rose in 1989 becomes the 15th past or present major leaguer to receive a lifetime ban since then-commissioner Kenesaw Landis in 1921 suspends eight members of the Chicago White Sox for their role in conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series.

Rose, hardly distraught by his banishment from the game, spends the night 36 years ago in Minneapolis, where he hawks signed collectibles on QVC.

“As you can imagine, this a very sad day,” Rose says in the hours between Giamatti’s announcement and the selling of his first autograph on QVC.

“I’ve been in baseball three decades and to think I’m going to be out of baseball for a very short period of time hurts.”

Apparently, Rose does not understand the concept of accepting a “ban” as he ends up spending 13,046 days on the game’s permanently barred list before commissioner Rob Manfred lifts the ban in mid-May of this season.

Manfred also sets aside the ban on Shoeless Joe Jackson and the seven other players from the White Sox scandal in 1919.

All of the once banished now are eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Does not mean, however, that they – particularly Rose and Jackson – automatically will get into the Hall.

They simply now have the opportunity to have the Hall’s myriad veterans’ committees review the merits – and foibles – of their careers.

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