Pete Rose

He was born Peter Edward Rose in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 14, 1941. One of four children of Harry and LaVerne Rose, he grew up in nearby Anderson Ferry, Ohio. His father, who had once played semi-professional football, pushed Rose into sports at an early age. According to one story, Harry Rose one day went downtown to shop for a pair of shoes for his daughter but returned instead with a pair of boxing gloves for Pete. Rose spent much of his childhood playing baseball with neighborhood friends and later joined the local Little League team. At Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, he played both football and baseball but excelled particularly in the latter sport. Shortly after his graduation from high school, Rose was signed to a contract by the Cincinnati Reds. Under his contract with Reds, he was first assigned to play for the Geneva Red Legs, a Reds farm team in upstate New York.

As his game improved, Rose was promoted through the ranks of the minor league teams in the Reds farm system, putting in time with teams in Tampa, Florida, and Macon, Georgia. By the start of the 1963 season, the Reds decided that Rose was ready for the big time. During spring training that year, Rose earned the nickname "Charlie Hustle" that would stick with him throughout his career. In an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, Rose won a base on balls. Rose ran out the walk, eliciting laughter from the Yankees. Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford dubbed the rookie "Charlie Hustle."