Pete Rose

American baseball player for 24 seasons, nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds lineup known as the Big Red Machine for their dominance of the National League in the 1970s. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, where he won his third World Series championship in 1980, and had a brief stint with the Montreal Expos. He managed the Reds from 1984 to 1989.

At the centre of one of the most talked about controversies in baseball history, with an all-time career record of 4,256 hits, he was a shoe-in for the Baseball Hall of Fame until 20 February 1989 when investigations began on his gambling habits. Rose was suspended from baseball on 23 August 1989 for committing baseball's capital crime; from 1985 through 1987 he bet on his own team. Rose was sentenced on 19 July 1990 to five months in prison and then, following his prison time, three months in a half-way house. He held three National League batting titles, hit .300 nine consecutive seasons and was named MVP in the 1975 World Series. He held the National League record as the only player to play 500 or more games at each of five positions.

Rose had two sisters and a brother. Living in Cincinnati, Ohio in comfortable middle-class surroundings, his father, Harry F. Rose, chief cashier of Union Trust Co., got him into sports early playing catch with Pete when he was only two. His dad told the Knot Hole League baseball coach Pete could only play if he could switch hit at nine. Attending Western Hills High School, Rose played football and baseball and although he was short and weighed 150 pounds, he could dunk a basketball. He was considered one of the toughest players in school. After high school Rose signed with the Cincinnati Reds receiving a $12,000 signing bonus. He played in Geneva, New York Class D Pony League for 85 games hitting .277 and committing 36 errors at second base. His spirit and hustle saved him.