Pete Rose Becomes All-Time Hit Leader: A Baseball Milestone

On September 11th, 1985, Pete Rose officially becomes the all-time hit leader in Major League Baseball, passing Ty Cobb the same day as Ty Cobb's last hit in Major League Baseball. Despite all the controversy that came after his playing days, Pete Rose, better known as Charlie Hustle, will always be known as one of the best baseball players to play the game. We're going to dive into a brief history of how he became the hit king on today's episode of Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide, as you learn all about sports history to increase your sports knowledge. And today's trivia question is, why did Pete Rose not play baseball his senior year of high school? Now, Pete Rose was born Harry Francis Rose, but went by Pete, and his parents encouraged him and his three siblings to all participate in sports. And Rose actually played baseball and football in high school and was a running back on the football team until his sophomore year as he wasn't good enough to make the varsity, so he focused on baseball. It turned out to be a very good decision, but it was also helped by the fact that his father saw he had a lot of talent in baseball as he struggled in school and his teacher's said he would need to attend summer school, but that would mean a year off of baseball. So instead of doing that, he had Pete repeat a year of high school. That way he wouldn't miss any time for baseball. By his senior year, he had used up all of his eligibility to play in high school. So he joined a double-A baseball team called the Big Boys because they were sponsored by Frischer's Big Boys out of Dayton in the Dayton Amateur League, where he was a catcher, second baseman, and shortstop. and compiled an amazing batting average of 626. And it got him noticed by a scout from the Cincinnati Reds. And after he graduated high school, signed him to a contract. And during spring training his rookie year in 1963 is where he got his nickname, Charlie Hustle. As in a game versus the New York Yankees, he got walked, and he sprinted to first. And everyone's like, well, Charlie's hustling. And that name stuck throughout his career. and he wore it like a badge of honor, as he was always running, sliding headfirst, and would never take a break, as he loved the game of baseball. He made his Major League debut on April 8, 1963. With the Cincinnati Reds against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But started his career 0 for 11. And it wouldn't be until April 13th. He would hit a triple for his first major league hit. Now that first year he would hit. 256. And would go on to win the National League Rookie of the Year. But after that season he would actually join the U.S. Arms Reserve. And be assigned to Fort Knox. And have six months of active duty the following six years. So he wouldn't be able to play regularly anymore. And we covered this a little bit before in our Nolan Ryan episode, who did the same thing. It was very hard to get a consistent schedule to both serve your country and play baseball. And after his second season, he was actually slumping. He averaged 269 and wanted to improve. So that winter, he actually participated in the Venezuela Winter League. And he came back that next season in 1965 to lead the league in hits with 209 and finished sixth in the NL MVP voting. And it would be his first of his 10 200-plus hit season. And it would be the beginning of him going nine consecutive seasons, hitting over 300. Then in 1968, he would go on to have his first hit streak, going 22 games. Then in 1969, he would have his best batting average hitting. 348, totaling 218 hits. Then in 1973, Rose would lead the league in hits with. 230, with a batting average of. 338, and win his only MVP, leading the Big Red Machine, which featured him and fellow Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez, one of the best teams of all time. And they would win the World Series in 1975 and 76. On May 5th, 1978, Rose would become the 13th player to ever hit 3,000 hits in a game versus the Expos, where he just hit a single on a hustle play, like he always did. In that same year, he would go on to have his longest hit streak and the longest hit streak since Joe DiMaggio, which no one has ever matched his mark since then, where he hit in 44 straight games. And after that season, he would actually go on to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies, sign a four-year, $ 3. 2 million contract, making him the highest paid player at the time. But he would help them win a World Series in 1980, making it his third World Series title. But he was getting up there in age. And in 1983, at the age of 42, he had one of his worst seasons. Where he hit only 245 and hit a total of 121 hits. That following season he was released by the Philadelphia Phillies. And a month later he signed with the Montreal Expos. Where he would get his 4,000th career hit. Joining Ty Cobb as the only other player to hit 4,000 hits. On April 13th, 1984. Meaning he was just 192 yards. hits away from becoming the all-time record. And following that season of hitting 72 hits, he would go on to rejoin with the Cincinnati Reds and be named a player coach. But despite the fact that the Reds were struggling at the time, he was still getting hits here and there, with a batting average of. 286. In his second season back with the Reds, on September 11, 1985, Rose would hit a left field single off the San Diego Padres, becoming the all-time hit leader breaking Ty Cobb's record with a total of 4,192 hits. Rose would go on to finish the season with the Reds and play one more year with them before just focusing on being a manager and finish with a career of 4,256 hits with 3,215 of those being singles, which is also a major league record. Cincinnati would go on to retire his number 14 jersey and he would be inducted into the Cincinnati Baseball Hall of Fame. But a few years after his playing days, it was discovered that he had gambled on baseball as a manager, which would mean he would be excluded from the Baseball Hall of Fame for the rest of his life. And a debate has gone on for years of whether he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, as he's still the hit king. But he did gamble on baseball, which was a black eye for the sport. Now, Pete Rose has not been passed by a Major League Baseball hitter. Although Ichiro Suzuki, if you include his time in Japan... did amass a total of professional hits of 4,367, making him the worldwide hit leader, but he only had 3,089 hits in the major leagues. So Pete Rose still holds that record, and likely will hold it for years, as he played over 20 years where we don't see players do very much anymore, and they don't play as much as he played, as he hustled a lot, but he wasn't injured a whole lot during his career either, which helped him get as many hits as he did. And he will always be remembered as a Charlie Hustle. If you want more of Pete Rose, HBO has a new documentary that came out on Max Streaming Service. It's a four-part series where it breaks down all about his career and the gambling allegations. It's a great watch if you want more of Charlie Hustle. If you enjoyed this story, please go tell a friend. Hit that little share button. Text them in your group chat. Say, hey, come listen to Daily Sports History and we can all be sports historians. just like me. And come back tomorrow for more daily sports history. And the answer to today's trivia question, why did Pete Rose not play baseball his senior year of high school? It's because he was held back by his father and he had used up his four years of eligibility by his senior year of high school.