Pete Rose left his mark on Tucson baseball, too | Greg Hansen's Notebook

In February 1985, Pete Rose was offered $3,000 to be the manager of the Arizona Wildcats' Alumni baseball team in the annual All-Pro Alumni game at Sancet/Kindall field on the UA campus.

Rose declined the money after one of his former Montreal Expos teammates, UA legend , told him the school could use the money for its budget. A crowd of 5,092 attended on a sunny February afternoon when the UA alumni team included current, soon-to-be and ex-major leaguers .

This entry is part of longtime Star columnist Greg Hansen's weekly notebook. Looking for more? Find updates and Greg's archive at Tucson.com/Hansen.

To the surprise of no one, Rose said he would not only manage, but play. He batted third for the Pros, opposing future major-league pitcher .

In the third inning, Rose walked. On a ground ball to second baseman — yes, the current UA head coach — Rose barreled into shortstop , knocking him down in an attempt to break up the double play. Rose was 44 at the time.

At the time, Rose needed 94 hits to break Ty Cobb's career record. Rather than exit the UA facility as soon as possible after the game, Rose remained in the dugout and answered questions from Tucson reporters for an extended period. He wore a UA letterman's jacket given to him by coach .

"My speciality is determination,'' he told me that afternoon, and he proved it by pointing to the dirt on his uniform where he had slid hard into second base in a meaningless baseball game.

Even on a lazy Sunday afternoon in Tucson, Charlie Hustle gave the fans their money's worth. He was one of a kind.

From Greg Hansen's Notebook: Among the takeaways from Friday night's McKale scene, transfers Trey Townsend and Anthony Dell'Orso bring life and intrigue to Arizona basketball's Red-Blue Showcase.

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