Lead Investigator Into Pete Rose Still Believes He Should Not be in Hall of Fame
The lead investigator in the 1989 Pete Rose Major League Baseball gambling matter tells the Washington Post he still believes Rose does not deserve to be entered into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
John M. Dowd led the investigation, later dubbed the “Dowd Report”.
From Tom Jackman of the Washington Post:
Dowd still does not think Rose should be admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame or allowed to coach or otherwise work in pro baseball. He said that most Hall of Famers agree with him and cited Johnny Bench as an example. Bench, Rose’s former teammate on the Big Red Machine of the 1970s, gets visibly angry whenever anyone asks him about it, as various videos such as this one show. Dowd doesn’t get angry, but he has some pretty entertaining insights on the Rose case to this day.
In February 1989, Major League Baseball heard reports that Rose had been betting on the Reds as their player-manager. Dowd, a high profile criminal defense lawyer and former federal organized crime prosecutor, was hired as special counsel to the commissioner by then-Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. Ueberroth retired during Dowd’s investigation and Giamatti took office, the Post noted.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com