TVXOHOF'S TUESDAY TRIBUTE - PETE ROSE, THE HITS KING

Stringellow Hawke:

You and Pete Rose, you're gonna live forever.

Dominic Santini:

Ah, come on, nobody lives forever.

“Airwolf”

From WLWT:
CINCINNATI —
Cincinnati Reds legend and Major League Baseball's all-time hit leader Pete Rose has died at the age of 83, according to multiple reports and the team.

Rose, a Cincinnati native, played 19 seasons with the Reds and collected an MLB-record 4,256 hits in his career.

The Associated Press confirmed with a spokesperson in Clark County, Nevada that Rose died on Monday. Rose's cause of death was not released on Monday.

One of the most recognizable Cincinnati sports figures of all time, Rose's legendary career took a complicated turn after he was permanently banned from baseball amid allegations that he gambled on games while playing and managing for the Reds.

Rose's career is certainly Hall-of-Fame worthy.

A member of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, Rose is the all-time MLB leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and singles (3,215). Noted for his all-around ability and enthusiasm, he was referred to as Charlie Hustle — taking home three World Series titles, one MVP award, two Gold Gloves and a Rookie of the Year award (1963), among dozens of other accolades.

It took me a while, but I’ve learned that I should always check the TV credits for sports figures when they die; they just might be eligible for inclusion in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, thanks to their League of Themselves televersions.  And that’s how, after his passing, I found that Rose did qualify for membership….

PETE ROSE

From Wikipedia:
Peter Edward Rose Sr. (April 14, 1941 – September 30, 2024), nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds lineup known as the Big Red Machine for their dominance of the National League in the 1970s. He was successful playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, where he won his third World Series championship, and had a brief stint with the Montreal Expos. He managed the Reds from 1984 to 1989.

Rose was a switch hitter, and is MLB's all-time leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215) and outs (10,328).  He won three World Series championships, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Glove Awards, and the Rookie of the Year Award. He made 17 All-Star appearances in an unequaled five positions (second baseman, left fielder, right fielder, third baseman, and first baseman). He won two Gold Glove awards when he was an outfielder, in 1969 and 1970.

In August 1989 (his last year as a manager and three years after retiring as a player), Rose was penalized with permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while he played for and managed the Reds; the charges of wrongdoing included claims that he bet on his own team.

In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the "permanently ineligible" list from induction, after previously excluding such players by informal agreement among voters. After years of public denial, he admitted in 2004 that he bet on baseball and on the Reds. The issue of his election to the Hall of Fame remains contentious throughout baseball.

Following his death in 2024, Rose became the first player to die while still ineligible since William D. Cox's death in 1989.

At least this is one Hall of Fame in which the Hit King is allowed to join.

Unfortunately, I haven’t found any pictures from these episodes in which he appeared, and with some of them, I couldn’t find descriptions of what his televersion did while with those fictional characters.  But if I do find any, they will go into his eventual photo gallery in the TVXOHOF FB page.

Here are the credits which qualified the televersion of Pete Rose to join.  

AIRWOLF
MIND OF THE MACHINE (1984)

MARELLA:

Some of the major-league baseball teams are using similar techniques to profile the perfect swing.

DOMINIC:

I read about that. Pete Rose will live forever.

O'Bservation:
References are just as much proof that somebody exists in Earth Prime-Time as do actual appearances.

KOOL-AID COMMERCIAL (1986)

O'Bservation:
Yeah.  TV commercials count as part of the TV Universe.  In fact, I think the Kool-Aid Guy might even show up in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame....

THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR
COURTING DISASTER   (1990)

GOOD SPORTS
THE CINCINNATI KIDS (1991)

ARLI$$
TRUTH AND RESPONSIBILITY (1997)

In the Season Two finale, Arliss has vengeance on his brain after he is slandered by a sports talk-show host.

VERONICA'S CLOSET
VERONICA'S SLIDING DOORS (1999)

Inspired by the movie Sliding Doors, this episode shows what happens to everyone when they have to go somewhere by plane. But because of an incident, they have to take a different flight which turns out to be a nightmare for them while we see what would have happened if they caught the earlier flight.

BETWEEN BROTHERS
FANTASY CAMP/HOME BOYZ OF SUMMER (1999)

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (2003-2019)
(Recurring Joke)

A still of Rose running to second base is used as a metaphor for George Michael Bluth's relationship with his cousin.

PSYCH
WHO YA GONNA CALL? (2006)

Shawn Spencer claims that the "spirit of Pete Rose" contacted him.

O’Bservation:
Another reference.  Pete Rose exists for Shawn to at least have heard of him.  (If not for knowing that "the Hit King" was still alive at the time.)

Rose proved to be multidimensional….

SKITLANDIA

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

O'Bservation:

Besides being mentioned on ‘Weekend New Update’ by Chico Escuela, Pete Rose (as played by Phil Hartman) visited “Rain Man” (as played by Dana Carvey) at the care facility where he was living to get him to use his savant abilities for some gambling assistance.

Finally, there's at least one other member of the League of Themselves in the Hall who was on hand to welcome Charlie Hustle.....

Goodnight and may God bless….