River Rat - Documentary Evidence
“Playing baseball for a living is like having a license to steal.” - Pete Rose
It is my opinion that Pete Rose, whose exemplar handwriting, hand printing and numerical entries appear on [the samples provided Mr. Casey], is the writer of the handprinted and numerical entries on [the April 9 sheet and the undated sheet].
Welcome to Ballpark Confidential: Baseball’s Backstory on Culture, Society, & History. Whether you’re a die-hard fan, a newcomer to the game, or just someone who enjoys a good baseball story, we’re set to dive deep into the essence of baseball, uncovering pivotal moments and key figures. This is more than a history lesson; it’s a judgment of how baseball reflects and influences our culture and society.
In this first series, titled River Rat – “Hustle, Heroism, and Hubris: The Pete Rose Conundrum” I’m examining books, articles, opinions, watching TLC reality TV show “Hits & Mrs.” on Pete and will read the document that rocked Major League Baseball – The Dowd Report sparking a 35+ year debate on one of baseball’s greatest players.
A new installment of River Rat – “Hustle, Heroism, and Hubris: The Pete Rose Conundrum” comes out every Friday!
Over the past several weeks, we have embarked on a comprehensive journey through the Dowd Report, breaking it down section by section. This analysis has allowed us to examine the evidence, testimonies, and conclusions that led to Pete Rose's lifetime ban from Major League Baseball. Each section of the Dowd Report has been explored to provide a clear and nuanced understanding of the events and actions that defined this pivotal moment in baseball history.
This section gets into the documentary evidence that forms the backbone of the investigation into Pete Rose's alleged betting activities. From handwritten betting sheets found in his home to detailed records kept by his associates and bookmakers, the paper trail paints a vivid picture of potential misconduct. Expert analysis of these records, combined with phone logs, hotel bills, and bank statements, further solidifies the connections between Rose, his associates, and the world of sports betting.
If you just started reading this series I suggest starting with Part One.
IV. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
A. PETE ROSE'S BETTING SHEETS
We obtained from Paul Janszen copies of three pages of handwritten records which Janszen took from Rose's home. Danita Marcum testified that she recognized the handwriting on these sheets as Pete Rose's because she recalled being at Rose's home and watching him writing everything down "in his book." Janszen also testified that Rose used to record his bets on a notepad.
The first of these three pages contains the date "April 9, 1987" at the top, followed by the team pairings for four Major League Baseball games and four NBA basketball games. The lower half of the page contains individual team names and team pairings, with the letter "L" or "W." This part of the page includes three baseball pairings including "Cin at Mont W," "Philly at Atl. L" and "LA at HouSt L."
The second sheet has baseball and basketball teams listed for April 10, 1987 and April 11, 1987. Each team has a "W" or "L" next to it. Some of the basketball teams have what appear to be point spreads, e.g., "Utah -5 L." Cincinnati is listed on both April 10 and April 11, 1987 along with a "W."
The Reds beat San Diego on both of these dates.
The third sheet is undated and contains names of teams and pairings for college and professional football games, e.g., "Miami vs. Okl -3." Next to three of the college teams is the notation "5 dimes."
On March 16, 1989, Pete Rose gave handwriting exemplars to Richard E. Casey, a retired FBI agent and experienced handwriting analysis expert. Mr. Casey was also provided with contemporaneous writings of Pete Rose for 1987. Mr. Casey compared Rose's handwriting exemplars and contemporaneous writings with the three handwritten sheets described above. His conclusions are:
It is my opinion that Pete Rose, whose exemplar handwriting, hand printing and numerical entries appear on [the samples provided Mr. Casey], is the writer of the handprinted and numerical entries on [the April 9 sheet and the undated sheet].
It is also my opinion that Pete Rose is the writer of the handprinted and numerical entries on the [April 10 and 11 sheet], with the exception of the three fractional entries, 8-1/2, 9-1/2 and 9-1/2, appearing in the lower right-hand margin of [the document].
Paul Janszen and Danita Marcum provided handwriting exemplars to James R. Dibowski of Cincinnati, Ohio, a retired postal inspector and experienced handwriting analysis expert. Mr. Dibowski concluded that the three above-described sheets were not in the handwriting of either Marcum or Janszen.
B. PAUL JANSZEN'S BETTING NOTEBOOK
Paul Janszen provided us with copies of 22 pages from a notebook which he has testified reflects the bets that he (or Danita Marcum) placed for Pete Rose on basketball, baseball and hockey from April 17, 1987 until May 13, 1987. The individual pages of the notebook are dated and contain team names grouped according to sport, e.g., baseball, basketball and hockey. Each team listed is preceded by a "W" or "L," and followed by a number such as "+2000" or "-2000." Most of the days contain an entry for the Reds. The last sheet from the notebook contains an entry "10,900 Val." Mr. Dibowski concluded that it was "probable" that the handwriting on the 22 pages was that of Janszen, except for 3 entries written by Marcum.
C. RON PETERS' BETTING RECORDS
We obtained copies of numerous documents which Ron Peters identified as his betting records for periods in 1987. Peters said he normally threw out all betting records as quickly as possible, but maintained these records because he anticipated a dispute with Rose over money since Peters never intended to pay Rose all his 1987 winnings due to Rose's $34,000 debt to Peters from 1986. The records are almost all in Peters' handwriting, with occasional sheets written by Dave Morgan, Peters' girlfriend, or others who worked at Peters' restaurant and answered the phone. Peters identified one sheet as a "recap" sheet from Janszen. Janszen identified the sheet as being in his handwriting.
One of Peters' sheets has the notation "Pete -41,800," which Peters explained meant that Rose owed Peters $41,800. Numerous other sheets list baseball games, amounts bet, and amounts won or lost.
D. ANALYSIS OF BETTING RECORDS
Bill Holmes, a retired FBI agent with 20 years' experience in gambling investigations and analysis of gambling records, and the author of articles for the FBI on baseball betting, has analyzed the betting records of Rose, Janszen and Peters. In his report, Holmes describes how he verified that the betting records reflect actual Major League Baseball games played in 1987, as well as betting line information pertaining to those games.
E. OTHER RECORDS
We have obtained and reviewed the following telephone records for the relevant time period: Pete Rose's home phone bills; Rose's car phone bills; Janszen's home and car phone bills; Gold's Gym phone bills; the telephone logs maintained by the Cincinnati Reds of calls to and from the clubhouse (which contain notations by an operator that identify the player making or receiving the call); the telephone logs of the other National League teams; and the hotel bills from the Reds 1987 road trips (many of which list long distance numbers called from the player's or manager's room). We have also obtained copies of various bank records of Pete Rose, including cancelled checks and statements.
The following section summarizes the information obtained from these records, particularly the telephone traffic between the various parties. The sequence of the various telephone calls is significant because it corroborates Janszen’s testimony that when he and Rose were not together at the same location, he would call Rose to obtain the names of the teams on which Rose wanted to bet, and then would call the bookmaker (Chevashore, Val or Peters). Some of the records indicate that calls were placed to the bookmakers directly from Rose's home or hotel room.
End of Section
In the next post we review:
Section V. SUMMARY OF BETTING ACTIVITY IN 1987