Pete Rose remains a highly controversial figure in the world of baseball, but there is no doubt that he is absolutely one of the best players ever to play in the major leagues. The numbers speak for themselves: Rose has the MLB record for most career hits (4,256), most games played (3,562), most singles (3,215), most at-bats (14,053), and a bunch of other categories that we don't have room to list here. He was also an extremely flexible fielder who capably played no fewer than five positions: 1st baseman, 2nd baseman, 3rd baseman, left fielder, & right fielder.
Rose played the bulk of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, making his MLB debut with them in 1963. It soon became clear that "Charlie Hustle" was a tough competitor on the field. He won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, then went on to earn a reputation as a strong hitter. Rose claimed the NL batting title in 1968 (.335), 1969 (.348), and 1973 (.338). In the '70s, Rose was an integral part of Cincinnati’s "Big Red Machine" that dominated baseball and won two World Series championships. Meanwhile, Rose's hits total kept climbing—he racked up number 3,000 on May 5, 1978.
Rose joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 1979 and went on to play five seasons with them. This era brought Pete his third World Series championship as the Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals in six games at the 1980 Fall Classic. He then jumped over to the Montreal Expos and played 95 games with them in 1984, during which time he collected his 4,000th hit.
Pete’s career was winding down, but he wasn’t done yet. His old team, the Reds, succeeded in bringing back Rose as a player-manager. He was playing in this capacity when, on September 11, 1985, he officially broke Ty Cobb's career hits record. Rose played his last game in 1986—he stayed on as manager until August 1989—having proven himself as undoubtedly one of the all-time greats. Pete Rose's jersey number—14—was retired by the Reds in 2016.
If you're into collecting Pete Rose throwback jerseys, you certainly have a lot of options to consider—he had a really long career! A lot of fans prefer Pete Rose Reds baseball jerseys from his old-school ‘60s days, while Pete Rose Phillies jerseys are popular among Philadelphia fans who remember that 1980 championship season. At Custom Throwback Jerseys, we let you choose what you like—we've got retro Pete Rose jerseys from his time with the Reds, the Phillies, and the Expos. Like all of our MLB baseball jerseys, these vintage uniforms are carefully made and historically accurate.