EDMONTON – The man known for his ability on the baseball field and his problem gambling off the field was in Alberta Tuesday to speak at a gambling symposium.
Pete Rose spoke at the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission’s Responsible and Problem Gambling Symposium in Leduc about the impact gambling has had on his life and career, and lessons he’s learned in the process.
“Where the hell am I?” Rose joked at the start of the event.
The man known as “Charlie Hustle” received a lifetime ban in 1989 for gambling on baseball games while he was a Major League Baseball player and manager.
Rose denied he had gambled on games – including games involving his own team – until 2004, when he admitted to the accusations in his book My Prison Without Bars.
During his 24-year MLB career Rose had a record 4,256 hits.
It’s been 25 years since he was suspended, but Rose is still hopeful he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“I’d be the happiest guy in the world to go to the Hall of Fame,” he said. “But I’m the guy who messed up so I can’t sit here in Edmonton and whine about it.”
The symposium is aimed at providing a platform to examine and discuss issues relating to responsible and problem gambling.
Global News’ Kendra Slugoski was at the event.