Pete Rose Confessional Inscription

[allstarsplus]

Updated: Sep. 18, 2006, 9:54 AM ET
Rose signed balls: 'I'm sorry I bet on baseball'


ESPN.com news services


Pete Rose is sorry -- and for the right price, you can own a baseball with him saying just that.

Baseball's all-time hit king, banned from the game in 1989 for betting on baseball, has signed basballs with a confessional inscription: "I'm sorry I bet on baseball -- Pete Rose," the New York Daily News reported.
And they're for sale.

Robert Edward Auctions, a New Jersey auction house, plans to sell 30 of the baseballs.

"This is where the baseball collectibles field has impact on the history of the game," Rob Lifson, president of Robert Edward Auctions, told the Daily News. "The collectibles field is not just shadowing the game -- it's affecting its history."

Baseballs with Rose's signature sell for $25 to $50, but Lifson expects the "Confession Balls," as he will label them in the auction, will sell for $1,000 each, he told the newspaper.

Rose's agent Warren Greene and attorney Roger Makley did not return calls seeking comment, the Daily News reported. But Greene told Sports Collectors Digest that Rose did sign the balls.

"Pete told me he signed a couple of dozen as a favor to the guys in Cooperstown," Greene is quoted as saying in a story slated to appear in Sports Collectors Digest this week, the Daily News reported. The "guys in Cooperstown" are Tom Catal and Andrew Vilacky, two memorabilia dealers affiliated with Pete Rose Collectibles and the Pete Rose Museum, on the third floor of Catal's collectibles store in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Robert Edward Auctions obtained 30 of the balls from the estate of Barry Halper, a New Jersey businessman, limited partner in the Yankees and memorabilia collector who died last year. According to Lifson and Sports Collectors Digest reporter T.S. O'Connell, autograph authenticator James Spence has found several additional balls on the open market. O'Connell told the Daily News "40 to 50" of the balls are known to exist.

[metsbats]

What a novel idea. We all know what's coming next...


"I'm sorry I took steriods"

"I'm sorry I hit my wife/girlfriend"

"I"m sorry about that paternity suit"

"I'm sorry I took coke"

"I"m sorry I got caught "fill in the blanks"

I'm sorry I couldn't resist!

David

[Eric]

Pete's signs of his sorry times

BY MICHAEL O'KEEFFE and TERI THOMPSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Pete Rose
Boy, is Pete Rose sorry.
Baseball's disgraced all-time hit king may have hit an all-time low by signing balls with this shocking inscription: "I'm sorry I bet on baseball - Pete Rose."

Thanks to a New Jersey auction house, you, too, can share in Rose's sorrow. Robert Edward Auctions plans to sell 30 of the baseballs for an expected $1,000 a pop.

"This is where the baseball collectibles field has impact on the history of the game," said Rob Lifson, president of the Watchung-based Robert Edward Auctions. "The collectibles field is not just shadowing the game - it's affecting its history."

It also could dash any hope Rose, who was banned from the sport he loved in 1989 for betting on baseball, has of getting into the Hall of Fame.

The bizarre ball signing marked the latest chapter in the sad saga of a man who was once one of baseball's most revered - and successful - figures.

Rose formally applied for reinstatement in 1997.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig extended an olive branch by meeting with him in 2002 to discuss his possible return - a meeting based on Rose's denials that he never bet on the game.

But then Rose became embroiled in a series of incidents in which he was seen gambling at casinos and sports books, and was hit with a lien from the IRS claiming he owed almost $1 million in back taxes.

In 2004, after almost 15 years of denials, Rose did an about-face and admitted in his autobiography "My Prison without Bars" that he bet on the game as a player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds. He repeated his admissions in an interview on ABC's "Primetime."

And now there are these damning baseballs.

Rose's agent Warren Greene and attorney Roger Makley did not return calls from the Daily News. Greene, however, acknowledged to Sports Collectors Digest, a hobby publication, that Rose did sign the balls.

"Pete told me he signed a couple of dozen as a favor to the guys in Cooperstown," Greene is quoted as saying in a story set to appear in Sports Collectors Digest this week.

He was referring to Tom Catal and Andrew Vilacky, two upstate memorabilia dealers who are friendly with Rose and are affiliated with Pete Rose Collectibles and the Pete Rose Museum, a shrine on the third floor of Catal's collectibles store, in Cooperstown. Robert Edward Auctions obtained 30 of the inscribed balls from the estate of Barry Halper, the New Jersey businessman and limited partner in the Yankees who died last year at 66.

Halper is best known for assembling the most extensive sports memorabilia collection in history. Most of his collection was sold in 1999 for $25 million at Sotheby's.

But this year, Halper's family contacted Lifson, who supervised the 1999 sale, about consigning pieces the legendary collector picked up after the historic auction.

"I went out to do an inventory," Lifson said, "and there they [the Pete Rose balls] were in a box."

According to Lifson, Rose approached Halper around the time his book was released in 2004 asking the collector to help him find a way to make money off his memorabilia.

The two then cooked up a plan for the autographed apology balls, Lifson said.

The Halper family believed Rose had signed 300 of the balls, although they are in possession of only 30. The ones Lifson will auction fall between No. 215 and No. 296, and feature the Pete Rose Collectibles insignia above the numbering.

According to Lifson and Sports Collectors Digest reporter T.S. O'Connell, autograph authenticator James Spence has come across several additional balls on the open market. O'Connell said there are "40 to 50" known to exist.

Rose remains a favorite with many fans. But there are a lot autographed Rose items on the market, and supply clearly outstrips demand.

Baseballs with Rose's signature sell for $25 to $50, Lifson said, but he expects the "Confession Balls," as he will label them in the auction, to fetch upward of $1,000 each.

And Lifson will also offer another bit of Rose's history in his auction - his Hall of Fame pass, inscribed with its own plea to Halper: "Barry, I shouldn't need this pass to get into the Hall of Fame, Pete Rose."

"Barry was very good friends with Pete Rose," Lifson said. "His Hall of Fame pass was the kind of thing Barry would keep at his desk and surround himself with and pull out and show people."

With Bill Madden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hit king's ups & downs

Here are some key dates in the amazing career and downfall of Pete Rose:


April 8, 1963: Makes debut in major league career built on grit. Earns the nickname "Charlie Hustle" for his no-holds-barred style.

Sept. 11, 1985: Passes Ty Cobb to become baseball's all-time leader in hits.

Aug. 17, 1986: Retires with an amazing 4,256 hits, mostly with Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies.

Aug. 24, 1989: Banned from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti for betting on baseball.

April 20, 1990: Pleads guilty to federal tax-evasion charges and is sentenced to five months in prison.

Feb. 4, 1991: Removed from Hall of Fame ballot.

Sept. 26, 1997: Pleads for reinstatement in letter to Commissioner Bud Selig. No action is taken.

Oct. 24, 1999: Wins rousing ovation from fans during introduction of All-Century Team at World Series game. Spars with announcer Jim Gray, who grills him about betting charges.

Nov. 25, 2002: Joined by Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, meets secretly with Selig to discuss reinstatement.

Jan. 5, 2004: Ending years of lies, admits to betting on baseball in book, "My Prison without Bars."

Today: Daily News reveals sale of autographed baseballs with Rose's autograph and handwritten message, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball."

Originally published on September 18, 2006

[suave1477]

Ok im sorry maybe im missing the whole hoopla about this!!!


First of all they expect the balls to sell for a $1000, then what would stop the average autograph collector to go to a Pete Rose signing for say $50 and getting a $10 inscription of him saying the same thing?????

Does someone have the exclusive rights to Pete Rose saying that?

You might say well he might not sign that inscription again, but if he did it before im sure he would do it again??? Whats the big deal!!!

What if he says NO??? Well what If I paid double of $10 for the inscription or Triple I am sure at some point he would have his price to say OK.

$1000 I THINK THATS A BIT RIDCIULOUS!!!

[otismalibu]

Save your money for the Ray Lewis "I'm sorry..." orange county jumpsuit.

Much nicer display piece, IMO.

[allstarsplus]

$1,000 as an estimate for a (possible) non-exclusive inscription???? Pete may have a new "premium" inscription at his next public signing.

[Ripken]

Actually, the story isn't quite accurate. I talked to Rob Lifson this morning and he told me the $1,000 is just an estimate..they're not "selling" the balls outright. They'll be part of the company's auction in April.

They are numbered to 303 and it's believed there are no more than that many in existence as part of an agreement Rose made.

Pictures, link, etc: http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...ors-daily.html

[flaco1801]

if those balls sell for that kind of money or anywhere close i think youll see many more of em.

[suave1477]

Well this is making pretty big News, what's the big deal????????


Rose 'I'm sorry' baseballs will be auctioned

Rose 'I'm sorry' baseballs will be auctionedBy JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer
September 19, 2006

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Pete Rose never expected baseballs bearing his autograph and a printed apology for betting on baseball to be sold publicly, his business agent said Monday.
A New Jersey auction house plans to put 30 such balls up for bid in April, unsure how much they'll fetch. The baseballs belonged to a memorabilia collector who died last December.
ADVERTISEMENT
on error resume nextFor mp_i=11 To 6 Step -1If Not IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFla sh." & mp_i)) ThenElse mp_swver=mp_i Exit ForEnd IfNext if (window.yzq_a == null) document.write("");if (window.yzq_a){yzq_a('p', 'P=Sv4nD86.I.YXXwmqRQ_u_QoGl8pmUkUQV90AAkTH&T=13rk smp5k%2fX%3d1158698973%2fE%3d95861673%2fR%3dsports %2fK%3d5%2fV%3d1.1%2fW%3d8%2fY%3dYAHOO%2fF%3d15453 40916%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3dDE33BECE');yzq_a('a', '&U=13armfset%2fN%3d1NGMAs6.IsM-%2fC%3d552442.9309395.10058591.1806201%2fD%3dLREC% 2fB%3d3969388');}Baseball's banished hits king signed the baseballs for some of his friends about a year ago, but didn't want them put up for sale, according to business agent Warren Greene.
"These guys are collectors. Pete signed for them," Greene said, in a phone interview. "Pete made zero dollars for signing them."
The baseballs say "I'm sorry I bet on baseball" in block letters, with Rose's autograph directly below. Greene didn't know who suggested the inscription.
The New York Daily News first reported the story in Monday's editions.
Rose accepted a lifetime ban for gambling in 1989, but denied for nearly 15 years that he bet on baseball. He finally acknowledged in his latest autobiography, published in January 2004, that he made baseball wagers while he managed the Cincinnati Reds.
During his exile from baseball, Rose has made a living in part off his memorabilia signings. During an appearance years ago, he agreed to sign a fan's copy of baseball's Dowd Report, which contained the evidence that he bet on baseball.
Greene said a collector who got some of the "I'm sorry" baseballs gave 30 of them to Barry Halper, a limited partner in the New York Yankees who died last December. The family contacted Robert Edward Auctions to sell his sports memorabilia. "There was a box of these baseballs," auction house president Robert Lifson said. "When I saw them, I couldn't help but thinking, 'Wow."' Lifson couldn't guess how much fans will bid for the apology baseballs. Rose's Web site features autographed balls for $86.99. Other balls with inscriptions such as "Hit King" are offered for $104.

[worldchamps]

On peterrose.com you can now buy these balls from him for $299.....I bet Robert Edwards Auction is furious!!!!