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As an Ohio native who grew up in the 1970s, Urban Meyer had quite the baseball team to root for in the Big Red Machine. Like most young fans who pulled for that Cincinnati Reds team, Pete Rose became a hero for the young Meyer, and one he managed to meet later on in his life.
During a recent appearance on the "Triple Option" podcast, Meyer addressed the ongoing gambling saga involving Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby. As is often the case, when a conversation turns to athletes and gambling, Rose's name is brought up, which is exactly what unfolded in this instance.
Fox Big Noon Kickoff analyst and former head coach Urban Meyer stands on the sidelines before the college football game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind., on Oct. 19, 2024. (James Black/Icon Sportswire)
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As Meyer explained, shortly after he was hired to be the head football coach at Ohio State ahead of the 2012 season, he met Rose at a Reds contest. The two also exchanged numbers, and the MLB legend wasn't exactly shy in reaching out.
"I was a huge Pete Rose fan, still am, we lost him several months ago, but he became a friend of mine. When I got hired at Ohio State, (the Reds) asked me to come down and throw out the first pitch … when I walked in the clubhouse, there was Pete Rose," Meyer explained.
"So we sat and talked for a couple of hours, exchanged phone numbers. I couldn’t get enough talking about the Big Red Machine, and he wanted to talk college football. And I (was) pretty naïve about the gambling thing, I’ve never really gambled in my life," Meyer continued.
"During the season, my first year in 2012, every once in a while I’d get a text … ‘Hey man, how’s the team look? How’s Illinois look? How’s Braxton Miller’s shoulder?’ or something like that. And I’d text him back, ‘Yeah, we’re doing fine.'
Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose and coach Tommy Helms watch the action during an exhibition game against Toronto at their spring training camp in Tampa, Fla., on March 31, 1987. (Ricky Rogers/The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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Meyer didn't think anything of it, that is, until a person he explained the situation to painted a clear picture of what appeared to be going on.
"I told that to someone, they said, ‘You’re an idiot. You know he’s trying to get information from you for gambling (purposes), and you could get in trouble,’" Meyer continued.
"I never gave much, but from that point forward, (if Rose texted) ‘How’s Braxton’s shoulder?’ I’d say, ‘How are the Reds doing?’ and just kind of moved on."
Pete Rose speaks during a news conference at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Jan. 19, 2016. (David Kohl/USA TODAY Sports)
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Rose, who passed away in September 2024, was banned from baseball after being accused of gambling on the Reds team he played for and managed in the late 1980s.
After also being made permanently ineligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, Rose was posthumously reinstated and became eligible for the Hall just months after his death.
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