Even In His Prime, Pete Rose Still Created Lifetime Memories for Philo-Duncan Falls Little League

SOUTH ZANESVILLE, OH

The late, great Pete Rose certainly made his impact on Major League Baseball for over two decades, but he left his mark on the surrounding communities as well. So we take a trip back to the 1970s and see how Pete Rose made his mark on little league baseball in Duncan Falls.

“Mr. Baseball, Mr. Hustle. There won’t be another one like him.”

There’s no doubt about that. Pete Rose was one of a kind, and following his passing at the age of 83, tributes and memories continue to pour in from Major League Baseball’s hit king. But for one South Zanesville resident, this one hits harder than Rose did at the plate.

“I was president of the Philo-Duncan Falls Little League, and I had promised the kids a banquet” said Donald Moyer, former Philo-Duncan Falls Little League president. “Come towards the end of the season, and I called down to Cincinnati to Johnny Bench, and Johnny wouldn’t answer me, but his manager said, ‘I don’t think you can afford this.”

But Mr. Moyer was in luck, because if not Bench then how about a Rose instead?

“So, I turned around and called Pete Rose, and I got Pete. He called me right back and he said, ‘What’s going on?’ I told him, and I got on a plane and we took off for Cincinnati”, Moyer added. “When we got there, I went in and just inside and there was Pete standing.”

But little did Pete know what he was in for that night.

“He took in, got in the plane and, we start taxing, he said…well so I had four or five boxes there, said, ‘what’s this?’ I said, ‘here’s a pen.’ I said, ‘I need your signature on a 180 balls.’ He said, ‘What??’ When we got to ‘The Commons’ with Pete, why they just all won the game. Tell you what, Pete took and give everyone, shook hands with every one of them, and every one of them cried. I mean, it was great. It was probably one of the best nights in my life.”