Let me count the ways … twelve in all.
O.J. Simpson and Pete Rose were popular athletes during the 20th Century, very successful in their respective sports, football and baseball. After their playing careers, their lives became tarnished, and they became tabloid fodder. Both men died in 2024, and they share many similarities.
Here are the 12 things that Pete Rose and O.J. Simpson have in common.
1. Both were born in the 1940s. Rose was born on Opening Day, April 14, 1941, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Simpson was born on July 9, 1947, in San Francisco, California.
2. Both began pro careers in the 1960s. Rose began his baseball career in 1963 with the Cincinnati Reds, while Simpson started his football career in 1969 with the Buffalo Bills.
3. Both athletes played for multiple teams. Simpson played for the Bills and the San Francisco 49ers. Pete Rose played for the Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies, and briefly for the Montreal Expos.
4. Both appeared in the playoffs: Simpson appeared in 1974. Rose did it many times and was a three-time World Series Champion (twice for the Reds, once for the Phillies).
5. Both held individual records. Simpson was the fastest player to gain 1,000 rushing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Rose also held records: most career at-bats (14,053), most career games played (3,562), most career singles (3,215), and most career hits (4,256).
6. Both were broadcasters. Simpson was a broadcaster for both ABC and NBC, and Rose was behind the mic (briefly) for FOX in the 2010s.
7. Both stars were portrayed in mini-series or documentaries. Tom Sizemore played Rose in a film called Hustle (2004). Cuba Gooding Jr. played Simpson in The People vs. O.J. Simpson, a 10-episode series on FX.
8. Both appeared in commercials. Among other things, Rose’s promo for Sketchers appeared during the Super Bowl. Simpson was known for his Hertz commercials.
9. Both athletes got into a ton of trouble. Found to have bet on Reds’ games, Rose was banned from baseball by Bart Giamatti in 1989 and also declared ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In the 90s, Simpson was the suspected killer of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. During a historic televised chase, his old friend and teammate Al Cowlings was at the wheel.
10. Both had reality TV shows. In 2006, O.J. Simpson starred in Juiced, a pay-per-view program. The show featured Simpson playing pranks on unsuspecting victims, often depicting wealthy characters in disguises. Pete Rose starred in Hits and Mrs in 2012. The show focused on Pete Rose and his fiancée, Kiana Kim, a Playboy Model. The show lasted for six episodes.
11. Both men went to jail. O.J. Simpson served 9 years in a Nevada prison, released in 2017, at 70 years of age. (He was sentenced to 33 years but was granted parole after serving 9 years.) Rose served five months in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion in 1990. He was released in 1991.
12. Both men are still in the headlines. A few months ago, Pete Rose was reinstated by MLB. In announcing the decision, Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement, “Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.” Because Simpson had lost a civil trial years ago but full restitution had not been made, a judge will rule on how much the Goldmans (plaintiffs) would receive from the sale of O.J.’s memorabilia, including golf clubs, his 1968 Heisman Trophy, and his 1974 Vince Lombardi Award Trophy.
Both were great athletes and lived tumultuous lives away from fields of play.
