Bloom off the Rose

Commissioner Bart Giamatti

After weeks of pleading his case to baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti, all-time hits leader Pete Rose agrees to a permanent ban from baseball 35 years ago today for gambling on games.

In return for Rose accepting a lifetime 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.

Pete Rose speaks to the media after his banishment 35 years ago today

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 fixing the 1919 World Series.

Rose, hardly distraught by his banishment from the game, spends the night 35 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 Giammati’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 “lifetime ban.”

To this day – 12,784 days after agreeing to his lifetime ban – Rose remains on the game’s permanently barred list.