Pete Rose's Signs of His Sorry Times

[Well, I'm flabbergasted...Mr. Rose has always appeared to be a paragon of moral clarity and graciousness. He always possessed an impeccable sense of style and an air of dignity...dare I say even an air of royalty....OK, I can't keep a straight face on this one any longer...I think Mr. Rose is an arrogant, tasteless, crass, self-absorbed boob...that being said, he was a very fine baseball player. Just when you think the lying rat can't sink any lower... - jtf]

Pete's signs of his sorry times
BY MICHAEL O'KEEFFE and TERI THOMPSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
18 September 2006

Boy, is Pete Rose sorry.

Baseball's disgraced all-time hit king may have hit an all-time low by signing balls with this shocking inscription: "I'm sorry I bet on baseball - Pete Rose."

Thanks to a New Jersey auction house, you, too, can share in Rose's sorrow. Robert Edward Auctions plans to sell 30 of the baseballs for an expected $1,000 a pop.

"This is where the baseball collectibles field has impact on the history of the game," said Rob Lifson, president of the Watchung-based Robert Edward Auctions. "The collectibles field is not just shadowing the game - it's affecting its history."

It also could dash any hope Rose, who was banned from the sport he loved in 1989 for betting on baseball, has of getting into the Hall of Fame.

The bizarre ball signing marked the latest chapter in the sad saga of a man who was once one of baseball's most revered - and successful - figures.

Rose formally applied for reinstatement in 1997.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig extended an olive branch by meeting with him in 2002 to discuss his possible return - a meeting based on Rose's denials that he never bet on the game.

But then Rose became embroiled in a series of incidents in which he was seen gambling at casinos and sports books, and was hit with a lien from the IRS claiming he owed almost $1 million in back taxes.

In 2004, after almost 15 years of denials, Rose did an about-face and admitted in his autobiography "My Prison without Bars" that he bet on the game as a player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds. He repeated his admissions in an interview on ABC's "Primetime."

And now there are these damning baseballs.

Rose's agent Warren Greene and attorney Roger Makley did not return calls from the Daily News. Greene, however, acknowledged to Sports Collectors Digest, a hobby publication, that Rose did sign the balls.

"Pete told me he signed a couple of dozen as a favor to the guys in Cooperstown," Greene is quoted as saying in a story set to appear in Sports Collectors Digest this week.

He was referring to Tom Catal and Andrew Vilacky, two upstate memorabilia dealers who are friendly with Rose and are affiliated with Pete Rose Collectibles and the Pete Rose Museum, a shrine on the third floor of Catal's collectibles store, in Cooperstown. Robert Edward Auctions obtained 30 of the inscribed balls from the estate of Barry Halper, the New Jersey businessman and limited partner in the Yankees who died last year at 66.

Halper is best known for assembling the most extensive sports memorabilia collection in history. Most of his collection was sold in 1999 for $25 million at Sotheby's.

But this year, Halper's family contacted Lifson, who supervised the 1999 sale, about consigning pieces the legendary collector picked up after the historic auction.

"I went out to do an inventory," Lifson said, "and there they [the Pete Rose balls] were in a box."

According to Lifson, Rose approached Halper around the time his book was released in 2004 asking the collector to help him find a way to make money off his memorabilia.

The two then cooked up a plan for the autographed apology balls, Lifson said.

The Halper family believed Rose had signed 300 of the balls, although they are in possession of only 30. The ones Lifson will auction fall between No. 215 and No. 296, and feature the Pete Rose Collectibles insignia above the numbering.

According to Lifson and Sports Collectors Digest reporter T.S. O'Connell, autograph authenticator James Spence has come across several additional balls on the open market. O'Connell said there are "40 to 50" known to exist.

Rose remains a favorite with many fans. But there are a lot autographed Rose items on the market, and supply clearly outstrips demand.

Baseballs with Rose's signature sell for $25 to $50, Lifson said, but he expects the "Confession Balls," as he will label them in the auction, to fetch upward of $1,000 each.

And Lifson will also offer another bit of Rose's history in his auction - his Hall of Fame pass, inscribed with its own plea to Halper: "Barry, I shouldn't need this pass to get into the Hall of Fame, Pete Rose."

"Barry was very good friends with Pete Rose," Lifson said. "His Hall of Fame pass was the kind of thing Barry would keep at his desk and surround himself with and pull out and show people."

With Bill Madden

Hit king's ups & downs

Here are some key dates in the amazing career and downfall of Pete Rose:

April 8, 1963: Makes debut in major league career built on grit. Earns the nickname "Charlie Hustle" for his no-holds-barred style.

Sept. 11, 1985: Passes Ty Cobb to become baseball's all-time leader in hits.

Aug. 17, 1986: Retires with an amazing 4,256 hits, mostly with Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies.

Aug. 24, 1989: Banned from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti for betting on baseball.

April 20, 1990: Pleads guilty to federal tax-evasion charges and is sentenced to five months in prison.

Feb. 4, 1991: Removed from Hall of Fame ballot.

Sept. 26, 1997: Pleads for reinstatement in letter to Commissioner Bud Selig. No action is taken.

Oct. 24, 1999: Wins rousing ovation from fans during introduction of All-Century Team at World Series game. Spars with announcer Jim Gray, who grills him about betting charges.

Nov. 25, 2002: Joined by Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, meets secretly with Selig to discuss reinstatement.

Jan. 5, 2004: Ending years of lies, admits to betting on baseball in book, "My Prison without Bars."

Today: Daily News reveals sale of autographed baseballs with Rose's autograph and handwritten message, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball."