As a fan of Pete Rose during his days on the Phillies before his downfall, I was interested to read this book. What I found was a work that is compelling, fair, and seems to paint a realistic portrait of Pete Rose and his era in the game--and the impact he had on the game both his playing and the fallout from his gambling.

The nickname “Charlie Hustle” was originally meant as an insult offered by none other than Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, both Hall of Famers for the New York Yankees, when they saw Pete Rose sprinting down to first base after a walk in a 1963 spring training game. But it was nevertheless appropriate: no one hustled more than Pete Rose.

On and off the field it seems, as reported in Keith O’Brien’s expansive new biography on the disgraced ballplayer.

Rose was born to be a hero, growing up in Cincinnati with a father who himself was a local sports legend, albeit an amateur. His dad instilled in him the notions of hard work and self-demanding excellence. So it was perhaps inevitable that he persevered until he eventually became the all-time hit king, wresting that title away from Ty Cobb, an intense ballplayer from the early 1900s. (Rose’s collision with catcher Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game mirrored Cobb’s hell-bent-for-leather attitude on the base paths.)

"Most of CHARLIE HUSTLE deals with Rose, the scrappy player. But as the chapters go on, gambling becomes an increasing part of the narrative as more and more outsiders are brought in to play various roles.... O’Brien’s work is extremely well-researched."

Rose started his career prior to the free agency era that removed barriers as players began calling the shots as to where they might want to play. He was a main cog of “The Big Red Machine” teams that dominated the early to mid-'70s. His ego told him that he was never paid what he was worth, so fans should have known that despite his allegiance to Cincinnati, he had to go where the money was. That was necessitated in part by his gambling addiction. “Hustle,” in addition to his nickname, was his behind-the-scenes persona.

O’Brien, a New York Times bestselling author, lets us know early on that Rose had a penchant for betting on football games, horse races and dog races --- a “tripleheader” as he called it. As the paychecks increased, so did the money he wagered (and often lost).

Gambling in and of itself is not a big deal. Many players do it, and certainly pro sports has embraced betting businesses as sponsors, which is kind of ironic. Ever since the 1919 Black Sox scandal in which eight players on the Chicago White Sox were banned from the game for allegedly taking payoffs to lose the World Series (against the Reds, no less), the one rule over all others is “Never bet on baseball.” But in Rose’s mind, either the rules didn’t apply to him or he thought he was smart enough to get away with it. It turns out that neither was the case. Once it was discovered that he had bet on baseball, including his own team, Major League Baseball came down hard. (Rose had returned to Cincinnati as a player-manager, so the decisions he made could have made a difference in the outcome of games, win or lose.)

Most of CHARLIE HUSTLE deals with Rose, the scrappy player. But as the chapters go on, gambling becomes an increasing part of the narrative as more and more outsiders are brought in to play various roles.

My first thought upon learning that this book was in the pipeline was: “Do we really need another biography of this man? What is left to say about him?” O’Brien’s work is extremely well-researched. Yet there’s no real drama here. Any baseball fan of that era knows the story of Rose’s banishment and his chances of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, which would have been a no-brainer.

In his Author’s Note, O’Brien writes, “This story is a work of nonfiction…” That immediately raised one eyebrow for me. Why would you have to include that? Would anyone think this was a novel?

There are a few flaws here, the most obvious of which has to do with the number of kids Rose fathered. He was a serial womanizer, conducting several assignations while married to his first wife, as well as his second. O’Brien reports that one of the longer-running girlfriends had a baby by Rose, which accounts for a paternity suit and several pages in the book, yet he neglects to include that one when referring to Rose’s offspring.

For all the investigating he has done, O’Brien seems to leave out the names of a number of people involved in the chain of events. They must exist somewhere, so why omit them? Another has to do with the designation of Rose’s first minor league assignments. In the early '60s, the lowest level was Class D, but O’Brien refers to it in a few spots as “A-ball, Class D.” Are these minor points? It depends on how you look at it. Many readers might be totally unaware of these errors, but if O’Brien wants his book to be taken seriously by baseball historians, then, yes, it’s important.

Even the subtitle is wearying: “The Last Glory Days of Baseball.” Anyone who reads my blog on the literature of the game knows my feelings about such claims. Who’s to say there are no glory days yet to come?

Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (www.RonKaplansBaseballBookshelf.com) on May 11, 2024

I was a little too young to remember when Pete Rose played but always have been fascinated by how he was such a polarizing player. It seems like people were either on his side or adamantly against him getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. With that being said, this book provides a deep dive into the roller coaster career of Pete Rose. From the highest of highs, winning a World Series, MVP, all time hits leader. To the lowest of lows that was the gambling scandal that rocked Major League Baseball.

Keith O’Brien did an awesome job at writing this book. The amount of research and interviews that he put in to this book is absolutely astounding. This was a well paced book that I struggled to put down once I got started. I was thoroughly impressed as I’ve read a few other Pete Rose/Cincinnati Reds books and this one is head and shoulders above anything else I’ve consumed. The way he intricately weaves the fabrics of Pete’s career, up to and beyond the gambling scandal, was outstanding.

I would highly recommend this book!! I cannot speak highly enough of how well Keith O’Brien did covering this subject!!

This advanced copy was provided to me by Pantheon and NetGalley in exchange for my honest and fair opinion.

I was really excited when the opportunity arose for me to review Charlie Hustle: The Rise And Fall of Pete Rose, And The Last Glory Days Of Baseball by Keith O’Brien. A book about an elite athlete during the time before they had too much money to really have problems? Yes, please. Sign me up.

Coming into this book, I only knew a couple of things about Pete Rose:

He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

He played for the Cincinnati Reds.

He was banned from the Baseball Hall Of Fame for gambling on the sport.

He was a jerk to a lot of people.

Other than that, I didn’t know a lot about the ins and outs of his life and career. I knew he was a “hit king”, and I knew about that All Star Game where he ran over the American League catcher at home plate.

But, who was Pete Rose?

It turns out that Pete was an incredible scumbag. If he wasn’t playing baseball he was being a degenerate gambler or cheating on his wife and then on his girlfriends. Or was he helping a guy set up a steroid ring? Or was he helping a guy set up a cocaine operation from Florida to up north?

O’Brien does a great job in this book juxtaposing the greatness on-the-field that was PETE ROSE with the shady, awful human being that he was being off-the-field at the exact same time. Sometimes on the same day!

My feelings on Rose’s baseball accomplishments are the same that I have for anyone else currently being held out of the Hall of Fame: put him in. Explain on his plaque how great of a player he was on the field and how awful he was off of it. Fans can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time.

I really liked this book. O’Brien kept me intrigued throughout slicing together Rose’s accomplishments right alongside his troubles.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A Philadelphia sportscaster once offered an appropriate one-sentence summary of baseball's Pete Rose:

"He's a helluva guy, but he'd bet you on what time it was."

Yup, that's Pete. You can say a lot about his life, which now has gone past 80 years, but you can't say it's been boring.

No wonder we're still talking about this legendary player, who had a fall that Shakespeare would have appreciated. Rose was one of baseball's all-time greats, but betting on baseball while managing the Cincinnati Reds led the his forced departure from his association of the game/business.

Rose has had plenty written about him over the years, naturally. He returns to the literary spotlight in a new biography called "Charlie Hustle" by Keith O'Brien, which ranks as the most comprehensive account yet of Rose's life. Not only did the author interview dozens of people and went through a ton of records and transcripts of report, but he even talked to Rose himself for a few days ... before Rose got angry for whatever reason and stopped returning phone calls.

Rose's story started out as the Basic Local Boy Makes Good. tale. He grew up in modest surroundings in Cincinnati, with a father who was a good but not great athlete. Pete didn't seem to pay much attention to school work, but baseball was another story. Nobody outworked him, and he signed to play with the hometown Reds right out of high school. After a shockingly brief stay in the minors (only a couple of years), Rose wound up in the Cincinnati lineup in 1963. He was good enough to be the Rookie of the Year in the National League. Pete also picked up the nickname of "Charlie Hustle" from Yankee stars Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford because of the way he ran everywhere on the field - particularly while going to first after a walk.

Rose simply got better and better from there. In 1965, Rose led the league in hits for the first of seven times and hit .300 for the first of 15 times. He won a Most Valuable Player award, played in 17 All-Star Games, and claimed three championships. Most notably, he broke Ty Cobb's seemingly unbreakable major-league record for most hits in a career. Pete was a player-manager of the Reds at that point, and he probably was the only person that would have put his name on a major-league lineup card. But it did happen.

It's hard to underestimate how popular Rose was during that period. He clearly wasn't the most physically talented player on the field, but no one worked harder. An undiagnosed case of ADHD probably was part of the formula for success.

But O'Brien points out, there were some red flags that were flying along the way. Pete picked up a love of gambling on horse racing as a teen, and that issue only grew as the years went on. Add in a personality who didn't seem to take his wedding vows too seriously and the intake of amphetamines, and this clearly was someone who was flirting with danger. However, Rose was so popular that many were willing to look the other way. Perhaps a little discipline in those playing days might have changed his path. Or, maybe not.

That brings us to the second half of the book, more or less, as a baseball story turns into a crime story. Rose was betting on a variety of activities by the time he was managing, including baseball. Rose hung out with enough shady characters so that word was bound to leak out to the authorities. He probably thought he could have slid by again, but gambling on baseball is the proverbial red line of the sport. But, as O'Brien outlines step by step, the case against him got bigger and bigger, and the sport's authority figures eventually had little choice but to ban him from the game.

And as the author points out, everyone was probably willing to give Rose an edge even then. If Pete had come out and just said that he had made some mistakes and that he was sorry, his suspension would have been a relatively short one and he'd probably be in the Hall of Fame by now. But instead, Rose dug in and denied everything for several years ... and then he wrote a book about his true activities.

Rose has become a sad figure these days in some ways. He spends some of his time signing autographs for fans who don't think he needs forgiveness for anything. He's an idol for life for them. There's the occasional story on the media on what he's thinking these days, especially in the light of the embrace by sports of gambling once the laws on that subject were changed.

I'm not a particularly big fans of books on crime, and the dive into that particularly part of the underworld wasn't the highlight of the book for me. But I'm willing to admit that the story is quite clearly told, and that it's necessary under the circumstances.

"Charlie Hustle" certainly will go down on the last word on the subject of Pete Rose. For those who are too young to remember Pete as a player and want to find out what the fuss was all about, this is a good place to start.

I have read a lot of baseball biographies in my life, but I haven’t read many that hit me as squarely in the chest and left me as confused about a human as Keith O’Brien’s 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦.

When I was seven-years-old, my grandfather took me to an exhibition game at Greer Stadium in Nashville between the Cincinnati Reds and the Nashville Sounds. I went down to the dugout with a ball and asked the Reds manager for an autograph. The manager, Pete Rose, didn’t look at me. For most of my life, that’s been my main memory of Pete Rose. A year later, he was banned from baseball and, to be honest, because I was so young I just kind of accepted that there was some debate over that happening (there are thousands of pages of hard evidence).

O’Brien sets up his book like a five-act tragedy. Literally, there are five acts: Rise, Shine, Fame, Fall, and Wreckage. Pete Rose is complicated and O’Brien doesn’t shy away from that. On one hand, he’s baseball’s all time hits leader, he befriended the black players on his team when that was certainly not common, he was good to fans (seven-year-old me not withstanding), but he was also a hardcore gambler, a philanderer, an absent father, and possibly a pedophile. O’Brien covers it all, interviewing Pete himself, his friends, his teammates and other people around him. As he states in the intro, he sticks to just known facts because that story in and of itself is enough. He tries to stray from opinion and weighing in on some of baseball’s biggest debates, but it’s hard to avoid and I think he does it deftly.

Pete Rose is a tragic figure: he was at the top, one of the greatest of all time, and fell to the lowest of the low, all through his own hubris. O’Brien captures it all perfectly. It’s one of the best baseball biographies I remember reading.

Note: I did eventually get that autograph, but I had to pay him for it.

I loved this book. I knew a bit about Pete Rose but this book puts it all on the page. Well researched. Wild story. A great time.

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon for allowing me to read and review Charlie Hustle The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball on NetGalley.

Published: 03/26/24

Stars: 4

I lived this. My first Major League Baseball game was in Cincinnati and of course I wanted to sit with my eyes on first base. Did I? I don't recall. I was young and sat where my dad pointed. I have only fond memories. There would have been a quick and nonsensical stop to any complaining; replacing the negative with the positive (everybody wants to see Pete, very few people ever see a game in their lifetime). I was taught to work hard and never give up like Pete. The lesson was there and I'm the woman I am today as a result. Pete made nonsporting news a few years after my introduction to him.

Charlie Hustle timelines Rose's life. I didn't realize reading this would bring back all the emotions: sadness, disgust, and disbelief I felt as this played out. Mainly I didn't expect to feel disappointed again.

I would gift this to a multi-thinker with interests in sports, social and psychological dynamics, and statistics.

Pete Rose is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Pete Rose is a deeply flawed person who consistently made choices which support his lifetime ban from Major League Baseball.
Cooperstown is not filled with saints.
 
All three of these things can be true.
 
Yet, until I read Keith O’Brien’s meticulously researched biography of Rose, “Charlie Hustle,” I’m not sure that I would have felt the second statement was true. The story which has filtered down through the public consciousness about Rose is that he was the victim of an overzealous prosecution by the commissioner of baseball who had an axe to grind.
 
He also was painted as a man who made a small, isolated mistake. So, who are we to deny this man a spot in the hallowed hall next to guys like Ty Cobb who committed the same infraction themselves?
 
But the Rose most of us think we knew isn’t a real person. He’s a carefully crafted character from back in a time before cameras were able to track sports figures obsessively.
 
Had the world of social media existed for Pete Rose, maybe the very first season his horse track gambling got out of hand it would have been nipped in the bud.
 
Or his career would have ended when he had an affair on his wife with a fifteen-year-old girl.
 
He may have gone to Federal Prison for his association with bookies, cocaine, and steroids.
 
Is it possible we would know nothing of Rose because his personal demons were so great and unmanageable that his career was over before it started. Or would he have gotten the help he needed so early on that this conversation would never have happened at all, and Rose would be firmly ensconced in the Hall where his talent belongs.
 
We will never know, which makes this book a tough but fascinating read for the myriad of What If’s. 
 
O’Brien manages to thread an extremely difficult needle here by presenting a mountain of facts without passing judgement. We know at the start that Rose himself cooperated for 27 hours of interviews on this book before disappearing from the project. By the end, this action is a perfect encapsulation of all Rose’s relationships - not just the people he consumes then discards, but with institutions too.
 
Even now, as he spends his days haunting memorabilia shows to make money, Rose seems to remain the same. If anything, he appears confused that he still needs to dodge the debris of all the bridges he burnt.
 
Ultimately that is the biggest takeaway from this bombshell of a bio: Even if Pete Rose was given back the one thing denied to him thus far, reinstatement and a shot at the Hall of Fame, it’s doubtful that would matter to him in the end. Charlie Hustle is only about the chase.
 
_________
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Well written, well researched look at Pete Rose. He was brilliant on the field and troubled off the field. This book gave great insight into that duality. This book really sucked me in. Excellent read and I highly, highly recommend it to others.

I am not a Pete Rose fan, but I am interested in his story. He's certainly a complex, flawed figure. And Keith O'Brien has taken all of that complexity and created a wonderful biography. I loved this book. It's a great sports bio that then turns into a fascinating FBI procedural. You see how deep Pete got in gambling, how he dragged down those around him who were seduced into hanging out with a celebrity. And then you have the struggle baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti (Paul's dad) went through deciding how to punish Pete.

The childhood stuff was okay, but for me, the book really got going once Pete hit the big leagues. Anyway, I loved it.


Netgalley provided me with a free e-copy of the book in return for this honest review.

I grew up in Cincinnati, and I was 11 and 12 years old when the Reds won the World Series in 1975 and 1976. It was a wonderful time. In school, we were shown Pete Rose as an example of how even mundane tasks, like running to an almost sure out at first, can make a difference if you put every effort you have into it, and "hustle." It changed how many of us looked at even the little things we had to do. For that, plus his stellar body of work in Major League Baseball, he should go into the Hall.

The author makes a great case that Pete is not a nice guy. But that shouldn't keep him out of the Hall. A lot of people didn't like Pete, and apparently for good reason. But a lot of people didn't like Ty Cobb, and he's in the Hall.

It's obvious Pete had a gambling problem and that he bet on the Reds, but he never bet against the Reds so he could not be accused of throwing a game. To me, there's a difference.

Yes, Pete sounds like an asshole who cheated on his wife AND his mistresses, but that is not something that should keep him out of the Hall. I feel the Hall of Fame is about a player's body of work on the field, and Pete has more than earned it.

For most of the book, the author seemed objective, but I feel throwing in some unsubstantiated allegations about corking his bats was a low blow, possibly designed to argue against those of us who say that only Pete's on-field work matters.

In the end, I got the feeling the author doesn't want Pete in the Hall. I disagree.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Well written well researched look at Pete Rose aka Charlie’s hustle.A hero on the field off the field a man with immense character flaws.A gambler with no respect for the game.This is an in-depth look at who Pete Rose really is eye opening revealing.#netgalley #knopf

Pete Rose is one of the most polarizing figures in baseball history. Even people who have never followed the game but know about him through the news about his gambling, conviction on tax evasion and his banishment from baseball will have an opinion on him. Whatever one’s opinion is about Rose, it is unlikely to change, even after reading this excellent biography of Rose by Keith O’Brien.

Before getting to all the excellent aspects of the book, I will the two criticisms I have out of the way. One is a passage about how baseball changed, for the worse in O’Brien’s view, during the steroid era after Rose was banished from the game in 1989. That fits the subtitle of this book and is an opinion held by many but it just felt out of place – not only where it was placed in the book but by being included at all. Rose was never believed to use steroids so why is that included in a book on him?

The other detail that was a negative is that in later passages, when mentioning the number of children Rose had, it always stated four – the four he had with his two wives. There was another daughter who Rose fathered with one of his mistresses, but aside from when she was little, she is ignored and forgotten the rest of the book. For the record, Pete Rose fathered five children, not four.

With that out of the way, time to talk about all of the good things about this book and there are plenty. The first is that O’Brien was able to get many quotes, stories and pieces of information from Rose himself. For a such a controversial figure, it was remarkable that the author was able to glean this much from Rose and it made for more authenticity. Now, whether one believes that Rose is lying, as he did in many of his public statements about his gambling, that doesn’t really matter as the reader will be getting the story from the person himself.

About that gambling – the detail with which O’Brien writes about Rose’s betting is what truly shines in this book. As many know, Rose gambled on more than just baseball. It was interesting to read about Rose’s “triple header” days in Florida during spring training. After the games, he would often head to the dog races, the horse races and the jai alai centers for placing bets. This would often take place with some characters who were less than desirable. This became known to many who befriended Rose through baseball and they had concerns. Teammates, managers and front office personnel alike all had questions about Rose’s acquaintances, but because of his success on the field, this wasn’t an issue for awhile.

That is until the FBI and the Department of Justice started investigating some of those acquaintances such as Tommy Gioiosa and Ron Peters. The latter’s testimony to the agents working for these agencies was the most damaging and O’Brien brings their stories to life in riveting pages. The same goes for the investigation by John Dowd for Major League Baseball and his report. The reader will think that they are right there in the room with Dowd and the baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti when reading about this investigation and the banishment of Rose from the game.

These are just a few of the excellent topics covered in this book. I haven’t even mentioned anything about O’Brien’s writing about Rose’s accomplishments on the field. The beginning of the book that describes the night when Rose became the all-time leader in hits will give you an idea of how he covers that aspect of Rose as well – which is excellent.

No matter how one feels about Rose as a person or whether or not he belongs in the baseball Hall of Fame, one who cares at all about him or baseball should read this book. It deals with a very controversial baseball figure fairly and leaves the reader to make the final judgement for themselves.

I was provided a review copy via NetGalley and the opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Pete Rose's life and career have been fascinating subjects for many years. His many achievements on the baseball field were an inspiration to many growing up, though clouded by later controversies. His story is always a good topic for discussion amongst the baseball enthusiast and a great subject for those just learning about baseball history. The biography gives a great insight into the personal life that is Pete Rose along with the many that surrounded him. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about Charlie Hustle and this era of baseball! An immense amount of effort went into putting this book together and it shows through with the ability to keep the reader engrossed and involved. Thank you Keith O'Brien for writing a great book worth the read! (This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and the author.) This review is voluntary and the opinion in this review is my own.

Pete Rose will always create a conversation for baseball fans. One of the greatest hitters and fiercest competitors to ever play. We all know think we ‘now the other side of the story. This book helps see the highs and lows for “Charlie Hustle” Is it possible to recognize the great player from the man off the field. Keith O’Brien’ book tells more of the story and I highly recommend it not only to baseball fans, but readers who wish to read a truly American story.

I had preconceived notions before reading this book. The first, that Pete Rose is a bad person. The second, that Keith O'Brien was still going to be able to suck me into this story. Both of them turned out to be true!

If you somehow don't know who Pete Rose is, he was a baseball player who had the most hits ever. This is a big deal. In O'Brien's Charlie Hustle, you get to the full Pete Rose story. O'Brien has a knack for somehow taking these big stories, like his previous (and amazing) book Paradise Falls, and telling them in a way that is both interesting throughout but never manipulative. There is a version of this book where the author could excuse everything Rose did or make the argument he has lost enough. Another version focuses on his many negative actions or just his general personality.

Which brings me back to my preconceived notion. I was already knowledgeable enough about Rose to know I wouldn't like him any more than when I started. However, O'Brien made it so that when I tell people why, I have way more facts to bolster my view. In fact, I bet someone who wants to stick up for Rose would say the same. Whichever view you have, you are going to enjoy it. That's why this is such a damn good book.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and the author.)

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Pantheon, and Keith O’Brien for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

I’m old enough that I can say I saw Pete Rose play. As a Mets fan, I had to have some anger over his fight with Bud Harrelson during the 1973 playoffs. I also saw his fall from grace. In recent years, I thought he still belonged in the Baseball Hall of Fame, as they had never proved that he did anything to alter the course of a game while he was in debt to the gamblers he owed money to. However, after reading Charlie Hustle by Keith O’Brien, I’m rethinking that opinion.

Charlie Hustle will likely become the definitive biography of Rose. It’s presented without the bias that Rose’s own books have. In it, O’Brien paints the portrait of a man whose entire life was consumed by baseball. He lived and breathed it, working out throughout his life more than was ever asked, and always trying to better himself. Unfortunately, he was also consumed by gambling, which would be his downfall.

O’Brien starts at the beginning of Rose’s life as he grows up in the rough-and-tumble blue-collar area of Cincinnati. His father was devoted to Pete to the exclusion of his other children. Rose was trained as a prize fighter. When that didn’t work out, he turned his attention to baseball. The nickname “Charlie Hustle” was a derogatory name given to him by Mickey Mantle. Rose didn’t care; he ran with it and owned it.

No one in baseball ever hustled on the field the way Rose did. Instead of a slow walk or trot to first base when he was walked by a pitcher, Rose would run. He took nothing for granted and was on top of every play in the field. The way he played is the dream of all of the statisticians in this new era of metrics. He produced runs, not by hitting long balls (although there were some of those), but by hustling and outthinking the other team. He thought nothing of laying down a bunt with nobody on and beating the throw to first base.

O’Brien interviewed many of the people who surrounded Rose throughout his life, including Rose himself. What started as trips to a racetrack in Kentucky evolved over the years to much more. O’Brien details how Rose went from betting a few dollars on horse races to betting thousands on every sport there was out there. There were a variety of hangers-on who helped expedite this. They were the “yes” men who never once took Rose aside and said he might have a problem.

The details of what was uncovered about Rose are presented here. The allegations of betting on baseball and the Cincinnati Reds while he was a player and manager are no longer debated. For many years, Rose denied these accusations, but it’s clear he wasn’t telling the truth then. He was trying to do anything he could not to be banned from playing and being involved with the game he loved. However, there are a number of other accusations that can’t be proven. In the waning years of his career as he was chasing Ty Cobb’s record of 4,191 hits he had a couple of off seasons before coming back with a vengeance. Several people have stepped forward and allege that Rose used corked bats, including the man who supposedly made them for him. Rose was also frequenting a gym where steroids were on the menu, and his radical physical change one year at spring training gives rise to a possibility that he was also using them. These last two allegations are the ones that really give me pause about Rose being in the Hall of Fame.

Rose might not have done anything while gambling to alter the game, but if his life had continued on the way it is detailed here likely would have put him in a position where he didn’t have a choice. He owed money to a lot of bad people and was getting deeper in debt all the time. Would the enforcers for some of the bookies and those attached to him have eventually put pressure on Rose to throw games in exchange for the money owed? O’Brien doesn’t ask this question, but he makes it clear that Rose was in so deep he couldn’t get out on his own.

There are moments where the good things Rose did are depicted. He welcomed players to the team who were shunned by others. It was less than twenty years since baseball had been integrated when Rose began to play, and many black players were still ostracized. Rose treated them better than many others and often sat with his black teammates in the dugouts – the only white player who would. That’s not to say Rose was perfect in that regard. There are some clear moments of racial ignorance as well.

A quarter of the size of this book are O’Brien’s footnotes and sources. I breezed through this part, but a few caught my eye as O’Brien details who told him what, and lets people decide for themselves if they are to be believed. Pete was not a nice guy, but despite never being faithful to his first wife, I could see she still cares about him for some reason. My one criticism of the book is that a daughter Pete had from one of his affairs is never talked about when O’Brien talks about Pete’s kids. It took a lawsuit by the grown-up daughter to get Pete to recognize her as his daughter, and O’Brien fails her as well in this regard, always only counting the children Pete had with either of his two wives. Pete Rose had five children, not four.

I would recommend Charlie Hustle to baseball fans, particularly those who believe after all this time Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. It’s not just that he’s a faulty human being as the rest of us are, but that his hubris that he should be allowed to get away with it because he’s Pete Rose that changes things. Would he be honest about using a corked bat or steroids to affect the game and his playing? This is a well-written and well-sourced thorough depiction of Rose the human being.

An excellent biography on one of the most polarizing figures in baseball history. From Pete Rose's early days as a high school athlete to his time as the Reds manager and baseball pariah, O'Brien provides much on how and why Pete Rose's trouble with gambling and baseball occured. He doesn't skirt around any of the issues that plagued Rose in his life. Pete Rose's Hall of Fame candidacy will always be a point of contention among baseball fans. but Keith O'Brien's book brings to light many of the problems that caused Rose's downfall.

I remember the Pete Rose scandal of the 1980's, but as someone who enjoys baseball without following it closely, I really knew very little about the man or the events surrounding his downfall. After reading Charlie Hustle, I have a great respect for him as a player, and simultaneously, I find his actions off the field deplorable. Keith O'Brien does a fantastic job of showing both sides of the legendary player, as well as the entire world of baseball, in a well-researched, very readable biography. The author portrays Pete as a hustler on the baseball field who worked harder than most others to reach the top, and delves into the politics and leadership of baseball commissioners and owners, who had roles in his career.

As a casual baseball fan, I found the book an easy, informative and entertaining read. Those who are more enthusiastic fans will enjoy the deep dive into baseball of the era, and the backstory behind Pete Rose's implosion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pantheon Books for the digital ARC of Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O'Brien. The opinions in this review are my own.