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 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.
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 couldnt get enough talking about the Big Red Machine, and he wanted to talk . And I (was) pretty naïve about the gambling thing, Ive never really gambled in my life,” Meyer continued.
“During the season, my first year in 2012, every once in a while Id get a text ⦠Hey man, hows the team look? Hows Illinois look? Hows Braxton Millers shoulder? or something like that. And Id text him back, Yeah, were doing fine.’
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
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, Youre an idiot. You know hes 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) Hows Braxtons shoulder? Id say, How are the Reds doing? and just kind of moved on.”
Rose, who passed away in September 2024, was 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.
