At long last, Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose will be honored by the local park where he grew up playing ball.
Pete Rose Field at Boldface Park will be dedicated at noon May 14, appropriate for the No. 14 Reds Hall of Famer.
“Placing Pete Rose’s name on the ball field at Boldface Park is a celebration of Cincinnati’s rich baseball heritage,” Reds President and CEO Phil Castellini said in a press release.
Rose’s “relentless hustle and passion for baseball” reflect the spirit of Cincinnati and the Reds, Castellini added. “We want to carry those traits forward for generations to come.”
Rose played ball at the field as a child
Rose had fond memories of Boldface, an 8-acre playground in the West Side neighborhood of Sedamsville.
“That’s where I spent my whole Knothole League,” Rose told The Enquirer in 2023, a year after the Sedamsville Civic Association endorsed the idea of Pete Rose Field at Boldface Park.
Rose stayed with his grandma the summers he was 9 to 12 years old to play for the Sedamsville Civic Club Knothole team. She lived an apartment across the street from the park, while Rose’s family lived 3 miles further west off River Road in one of four homes on Braddock Street.
Rose said he was the team catcher, and later second baseman. “I wasn’t even the best player on the team,” he said.
Field dedicated on Reds’ Pete Rose Day
Pete Rose Field is part of ongoing renovations of Boldface. The project includes work on its 106-year-old shelter house, athletic fields and play structure.
The May 14 dedication will include remarks from members of the Rose family, community representatives and city officials. A community celebration with a cookout will follow at 3 p.m., hosted by the neighborhood civic group.
That night, the Reds will host Pete Rose Night, meeting the Chicago White Sox at 7:14 p.m.
Rose died at 83 on Sept. 30, 2024.