Baseball legend Pete Rose has died at the age of 83

Pete Rose, the Major League Baseball hitting king who then became a pariah for betting on the game, has died at age 83, the coroner in Clark County, Nevada, confirmed to ABC News on Monday.

According to the coroner’s office, Rose was found at his home by a family member. There were no signs of foul play.

The coroner will determine the cause and manner of death.

The coroner told ABC News that Rose was not under medical care at the time of his death and the crime scene is currently being examined.

The coroner will determine the cause and manner of death.

ABC News has reached out to Rose’s rep.

Rose brought an expert attitude to the American pastime and won countless fans for his on-field efforts. At the end of his 24-year career, including 19 years with the Cincinnati Reds, he held the record for most career hits, games played, plate appearances and at-bats. He was also a 17-time All-Star, 1973 NL MVP and 1963 Rookie of the Year.

He also won three World Series – two with Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” clubs in 1975 and 1976 and a third with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.

But Rose will always be remembered for being banned from the MLB for life in 1989 for playing games as manager of the Reds.

With Rose under suspicion, new MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti commissioned an investigation in April 1989 led by John Dowd, a Justice Department attorney. The damning report was released in June, documenting at least 52 bets on Reds games in 1987. his first season as a pure manager, after three seasons as a player/manager. According to the Dowd report, daily bets amounted to thousands of dollars.

With few options, Rose voluntarily accepted placement on the baseball ineligible list in August 1989. Despite this, Rose continued to deny ever betting on his own team for over a decade.

In his 2004 autobiography “My Prison Without Bars” he finally admitted to betting on Reds games. He also came clean for the first time in an interview with ABC News promoting the book.

“I bet on baseball in 1987 and 1988,” he told ABC News’ Charles Gibson in an exclusive interview that aired on “Primetime Thursday” on January 8, 2004. “It was my mistake for not coming to terms with it much sooner.”

He claimed he never bet against his team and said he wanted to “win every game.”

“I think what happens is that at that point you bet on football and then what comes after football is basketball… and then of course baseball comes next,” Rose said. “It’s just a pattern you fell into.”

Two years after Rose was banned for life, the Baseball Hall of Fame decided that no one on the ineligible list would be allowed into the institution.

The controversy surrounding Rose’s suspension and expulsion from the Hall of Fame has taken on a life of its own, becoming a topic that sports fans often discuss more than his legendary on-field exploits.

Even then-President Donald Trump weighed in on the debate in February 2020, tweeting: “He bet, but only on his team winning, and paid a decade-long price for it. Put Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame! It’s time.”

Rose requested the league be removed from the list in 1992, 1998, 2003, 2015 and 2022 – but was either denied or received no response each time.

“That was a part of my life that cannot be changed. You wish it hadn’t happened, but you can just guarantee yourself that it won’t happen again,” Rose told ABC News in 2004.

There is little debate as to whether his performance on the field merits induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rose’s pursuit of the career hits record captivated the country in 1985. Rose broke Ty Cobb’s hallowed record on September 11, 1985 with a single against the San Diego Padres for his 4,192. Hit. He only played one more season and finished his career with 4,256 hits.

Even decades later, Rose remains at the top of the career hit list. Only Derek Jeter (3,465), Albert Pujols (3,384) and Paul Molitor (3,319) have come within 1,000 hits of Rose’s record in the time since it was set – and no one has been able to seriously challenge the mark.

Years earlier, in 1978, Rose gained attention when he snapped Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak – perhaps the most lauded record in sports. As of June 14, Rose would record a goal in 44 straight games. The streak finally ended on July 19, but at 44 games it is still the second longest streak since 1900.

Rose has been married twice and has been in a long-term relationship with model Kiana Kim since 2011. The two appeared on the reality TV show “Pete Rose: Hits and Mrs.” in 2013. Rose has four children.

Rose’s eldest son, Pete Rose Jr., played in the minors and independent baseball for over 10 years, but only played 11 games in the majors for the Reds in 1997. He had two career hits.

Rose has never strayed far from baseball, despite being on the sport’s ineligible list. His No. 14 was retired by the Reds and he appeared on the sport’s fan-voted All-Century Team in 1999. The team was announced at that year’s All-Star Game in Boston and Rose received a standing ovation. Only three non-Hall of Famers are on the 30-player list, with Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire missing due to allegations of steroid use that surfaced after the list was compiled.

“I owe baseball,” Rose told Gibson in 2004. “Baseball doesn’t owe me anything. I owe baseball. And the only way I can make my peace with baseball is to take that negative and somehow turn it into something positive.”

ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.