CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds held a 14-hour memorial visit for legendary former player Pete Rose.
Rose died on September 30 at the age of 83.
Notably, Rose still holds the all-time Major League Baseball home run record, with 4,256.
Thousands of fans turned up at Great American Ball Park to pay their last respects on Sunday.
“Pete was my idol,” Reds fan Matt Armenio said. “I played a lot of ball, and like a lot of other kids, I wore the number 14.”
The 14-hour visit was symbolic of Rose’s No. 14 jersey.
On a rainy day in Cincinnati, fans placed dozens of roses next to a statue of Pete Rose and followed a long red carpet into the stadium.
There were two banners draped along the front of the stadium, covered in thousands of signatures and notes from fans.
The letters “HOF” — short for “Hall of Fame” — have been written countless times on the banner.
Pete Rose is undoubtedly one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport. But he received a permanent ban from professional baseball in August of 1989 for gambling on games.
The permanent ban also prevents Rose from being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
“The commissioner is wrong,” said John Edds, who drove his family to Cincinnati this weekend from Maynardville, Tennessee.
“There’s no doubt about what he did as a player,” Edds said.
It’s a topic that has divided baseball fans for decades, but many Reds expressed their support for Rose at Sunday’s memorial visit.
“To me, you’re in the Hall of Fame because of your stats and what’s written on the back of your baseball card,” Reds fan Jeff Dannenberg said.
Rose’s daughters, Fawn and Cara, entertained fans nonstop for hours during Sunday’s visit.
The visit was scheduled to be from seven in the morning until nine in the evening
