This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
This is a lot of two items that symbolize the fame and infamy of Pete Rose's career. The gold-plated Lafayette watch was presented to Rose in 1980 after he was named NL Player of the Week while with the Philadelphia Phillies. In the interior ring of the watch is the NL logo and the words "Player of the Week." Though the glass face has undergone wear, the watch is in reasonably good condition and comes with the original brown case under the top cover of which is a gold Player of the Week plate. There were no awards, only shame, for Rose nine years later when he was suspended from the game for life and kept out of the Hall of Fame for allegedly betting on baseball games while managing the Cincinnati Reds. The "smoking gun" that nailed him was the Dowd Report, a record of baseball's investigation of Rose's gambling. While Rose has put his name on many items in his time, the strangest may be copies of the Dowd Report, the findings of which he has vehemently denied. Whatever Rose's motivation, owning this clean copy of the report bearing Rose's near-perfect signature in blue sharpie on the front cover is a little like having Jesse James' signature on the revolver that killed him. The report comes with a letter of authenticity – of the signature, not the contents -- from Rose.