Pete Rose Files Released by FBI Reveal Extent of Betting with Bookie Ronald Peters

^{FBI documents released after Pete Rose’s death in 2024 reveal decades-old investigations into his gambling habits and history with his bookie, Ronald Peters. (Photo: AFF / Alamy)}

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released 130 pages of documents related to investigations into the betting habits of MLB career hits leader Pete Rose, focused on the bookie that took bets from the former Cincinnati Reds legend.

The bookie, Ronald Peters, died in November 2016, while Rose passed away on Sept. 30, 2024. Those deaths are what allowed the FBI to release the batch of files, as the agency typically releases such records publicly after the death of an individual. 

Interviews Point to Rose as Heavy Sports Bettor

Many names in the files were still redacted, while an additional 125 pages were deleted as duplications or for various privacy concerns. 

The documentation includes a 1987 memo in which an FBI investigation into Peters is requested by local authorities in which Peters is accused of both being a narcotics dealer and “a major bookmaker,” and notes that officers have seen Rose and other “prominent sports personalities” entering Peters’ establishment.

That request also notes that a cooperating defendant (CD) had claimed that Rose had gambled with Peters.

“The CD advised that at one time Rose owed Peters $90,000 in sports wagering losses,” the memo reads.

Other documents include interviews with individuals who claimed to have knowledge of Rose’s betting habits. That included one November 1987 interview with a person whose name remains redacted, in which that person said Rose had been betting $1,000 to $2,000 per game on football games in 1986, wagering on 10 games each weekend. 

That same individual said they had only witnessed Rose betting on football, basketball, and horse racing, but never baseball. However, Rose would later admit to having wagered not only on MLB games, but also that he “bet on my team every night” when he was the manager of the Reds. 

Rose Removed from Permanently Ineligible List by Manfred

The files add context to the Dowd report, the 1989 investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball that led MLB to slap Rose with a permanent ban from baseball. 

In May, current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred removed Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and the other members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox charged with fixing the 1919 World Series from the permanently ineligible list. That decision will make all those individuals eligible for induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame, with Rose and Jackson almost certain to get consideration the next time the Classic Baseball Era Committee meets in 2027. 

“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter to Rose family attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov explaining his decision. 

The new revelations about Rose’s gambling come when two current Ohio baseball players find themselves at the center of a betting probe. 

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz was placed on paid leave on July 3 after suspicious betting patterns were seen on two “first pitch” bets in innings he pitched on June 15 and June 27, both of which saw balls thrown well out of the strike zone. Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was also placed on leave in relation to the investigation in late July. On Sunday, Aug. 31, MLB announced that both players would remain on leave “until further notice.” The case may have been behind Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s recent call to remove all proposition bets from regulated sportsbooks in the state.