GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Ten years after his ban from baseball, public opinion appears to have shifted in Pete Rose's favor. Three in four Americans (74%) now believe Rose should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, compared to 56% who said so in 1989, immediately following the investigation of Rose's gambling activities and subsequent lifetime ban from the sport. Men are especially likely to express pro-Rose sentiment: 81% of men think Rose should be in the Hall of Fame, compared to 68% of women.
The poll also indicates that four out of five self-proclaimed baseball fans (79%) would like to like to see the former Cincinnati Reds great immortalized in Cooperstown. Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, and was elected by fans to baseball's All-Century Team, whose members were honored at a World Series ceremony October 24.
Majority of Americans Continue to Believe Rose Guilty of
Gambling on Baseball
Their sympathy for Rose notwithstanding, most Americans believe
that he was indeed guilty of the charges against him. Despite
Rose's continued public insistence to the contrary, 56% of
Americans believe the baseball commissioner's report stating that
Rose in fact did gamble extensively; just 30% believe Rose's
denial. However, these figures also reflect movement toward Rose's
position; in 1989, two thirds of Americans (68%) said they believed
the commissioner's report, while just 18% said they believed
Rose.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,010 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted November 18-21, 1999. For results based on this sample,
one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus
3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
Pete Rose says publicly that he never gambled on baseball. A 1989 report to the baseball commissioner said that Rose gambled extensively and bet on his own team. Which do you believe, Pete Rose or the Commissioner's report?
| Nov 18-21, 1999 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23 1989 |
National adults |
Baseball fans |
|
| Pete Rose | 18% | 30% | 34% |
| Commissioner's report | 68 | 56 | 56 |
| No opinion | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | |
Before the gambling allegations Pete Rose was expected to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Do you think Rose should be elected to the Hall of Fame now?
| Nov 18-21, 1999 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23 1989 |
National adults |
Baseball fans |
|
| Yes | 56% | 74% | 79% |
| No | 36 | 21 | 18 |
| No opinion | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | |
Are you a fan of professional baseball, or not?
| Yes, a fan | Somewhat of a fan (vol.) | Not a fan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| 1999 Nov 18-21 | 45 | 16 | 39 |
| 1999 Oct 21-24 | 37 | 10 | 53 |
| 1999 July 13-14 | 40 | 19 | 41 |
| 1999 Mar 19-21 | 34 | 15 | 51 |
| 1998 Oct 9-12 | 47 | 14 | 39 |
| 1998 Sep 14-15 | 45 | 18 | 37 |
| 1998 Jun 22-23 | 34 | 10 | 56 |
| 1996 Mar 15-17 | 38 | 10 | 52 |
| 1995 Oct 5-7 | 34 | 8 | 58 |
| 1995 Jul 7-9 | 35 | 13 | 52 |
| 1995 May 11-14 | 35 | 10 | 55 |
| 1995 Apr 17-19 | 32 | 9 | 59 |
| 1995 Feb 24-26 | 37 | 12 | 51 |
| 1995 Jan 16-18 | 37 | 8 | 55 |
| 1994 Oct 17-19 | 39 | 9 | 52 |
| 1994 Sep 6-7 | 35 | 11 | 54 |
| 1994 Aug 15-16 | 39 | 10 | 51 |
| 1994 Aug 8-9 | 35 | 20 | 45 |
| 1993 May 21-23 | 39 | 10 | 51 |