What we know about Pete Rose's death and final days

Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose was found dead at his home Monday in Clark County, Nevada, according to officials there.

The Clark County coroner's office could not immediately be reached and the county spokeswoman who confirmed Rose's death provided no other details, including the cause of death. ABC News reported that a family member found Rose and said the county medical examiner indicated there were no signs of foul play.

The ABC News report also said Rose, 83, had not been in the care of a doctor at the time of his death. Rose's home is being examined and the cause of death remains under investigation.

Although there was no indication Rose had been seriously ill at the time of his death, Rose said in 2018 court filings connected to his divorce that he was "in poor health and disabled." In that same divorce case, Rose's lawyers said he struggled to walk, was on blood thinners and had undergone three heart procedures in five years.

"His health is deteriorating," the court documents said.

Despite those health problems, Rose maintained a busy schedule and continued to travel all over the country, often to sports memorabilia shows. A Facebook post Monday from the Music City Sports Collectibles and Autograph Show in Tennessee featured a photograph taken Sunday of Rose sitting in a wheelchair, surrounded by several of his teammates from his days in Cincinnati with the Big Red Machine.

He died the next day. "Amazing that they all got to see each other one last time," the post said.

Earlier this year, in April, Rose canceled an appearance at former UC basketball coach Bob Huggins' annual fish fry charitable fundraiser in West Virginia "due to health reasons," according to a post on the event's Facebook account. "We're sending Pete our warmest wishes for a full & speedy recovery," the post said.

The Cincinnati Reds also confirmed Rose's death in a statement late Monday. “Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing,” said Reds' owner Bob Castellini. “He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him. Pete was a Red through and through. No one loved the game more than Pete and no one loved Pete more than Reds Country.”

Though the all-time hits leader began his record-breaking career in Cincinnati and won two World Series titles here, he had lived in Nevada for years, near Las Vegas, where he owned a now-closed bar and frequently made paid public appearances and signed baseball memorabilia.

Pete Rose HBO documentary

He recently was the subject of an HBO documentary about his life on and off the field, including his ban from baseball for betting on the game. In an interview with The Enquirer in June, Rose reflected on that life, the consequences of his gambling and his own mortality.

“What, are they waiting for me to die?” Rose said of his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame. “Wouldn’t that be horrible if I died next week and then next year they reinstated me?”

Rose's legacy also was on his mind in his last post on the social media site X on Sept. 21. The man known to fans as Charlie Hustle wrote about his grandson, a baseball player at La Salle High School, who'd recently been featured in a Philadelphia newspaper article. "Couldn't be more proud of my grandson," Rose wrote. "Keep hustling with La Salle baseball. The #Rose legacy lives on."

According to social media posts connected to Rose, he visited Cincinnati as recently as Aug. 14, when his agent posted a photo of Rose giving a thumbs up in front of the statue at Great American Ball Park depicting his iconic head-first slide.

"It was great to proudly stand with him by his legendary headfirst slide statue in the hometown of the Hit King," his agent wrote.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What we know about Pete Rose's death and final days