CINCINNATI — Following the news of Pete Rose's death, longtime WCPO sports reporter and anchor John Popovich reflected on his decades-long relationship with the baseball legend — saying the man was polarizing, energetic and often cocky.
In a 2016 article, Popovich said originally he didn't particularly like the baseball star who was born on Cincinnati's west side and rose to national prominence playing America's greatest pastime.
That changed as Popovich came to know him.
"I know people have all kinds of opinions of Pete Rose, but I really, really liked him as a person. I really respected him as a baseball player," Popovich said.
The now-retired journalist said Rose was always available and faced the music when controversy reared its head around Riverfront Stadium.
In one memory, Popovich retold the story of how, less than an hour before a game was slated to begin, Rose welcomed him to film in the ballpark's lobby as a woman sang a telegram to him in the tune of "Hello Dolly."
"Then he went out and got a triple on his first bat. I thought to myself, 'How many guys would let me share that moment with him?' But that was Pete," he said.
Pete reflected the city in which he was raised and grew to represent.
"He was Cincinnati," Popovich said. "He was very much from Riverside and Sedamsville, you name it. He grew up tough. He grew up a Western Hills kid."
The veteran reporter acknowledged Rose's record and legacy were far from pristine. Popovich said Rose was a fantastic baseball player with the work ethic to make him legendary, but his character was flawed.
"There's a lot of people you'll find if they're not from Cincinnati, they did not like him," Popovich said. "They didn't appreciate him. He was hard-nosed. He was cocky."
He was banned from baseball and made permanently ineligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame after accusations that he bet on games while a player and manager.
"The problem is he lied," Popovich said. "He did it, and if he'd told the truth from the beginning, maybe things would be different."
Even with the official ruling keeping Rose's name out of the HOF roster, Popovich said his legacy will live within the building's walls.
"Even though he's not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame has more video of Pete Rose than any other player who's played the game. So, in a way, he's in the Hall of Fame if not officially," said Popovich.
