Submitted photo Jim Ebert of Elkins was 8 years old when he first met baseball legend Pete Rose.

ELKINS — When baseball legend Pete Rose passed away at the age of 83 last week, it brought back many memories for those who either loved baseball’s all-time hit king, or hated him. 

Those who adored “Charlie Hustle” remember him as the hard-nosed player who won three World Series with the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies. Those who hated him are quick to recall his perceived arrogance on the field and the fact that he was banned from Major League Baseball for betting on games.

Jim Ebert, owner of the Elkins McDonald’s restaurant, has several fond personal memories of Rose, especially from when he met and had a photo taken with the 17-time All-Star in 1972, when Ebert was just eight years old.

“The photo I have of us was at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati when I was at a game with my parents, my brother and my sister,” Ebert told The Inter-Mountain. “The first people into the stadium were allowed to get their picture taken with Pete Rose, so my brother, my sister and I were all able to get our picture with him.”

Ebert said many fans were lined up waiting to take a photo with Rose, who was one of his idols while growing up.

“There was a line in an aisle behind some seats and once it was your turn, you could walk right up to him,” Ebert said. “Rose and Johnny Bench were my idols back then, I was living in Ohio and we went to several Reds games at Riverfront. He was really friendly.”

Ebert said he talked with Rose on several other occasions after their first meeting when he was 8.

“I ran into him five times since I first met him,” Ebert said. “I have several other photos with him when I met him later on in my life.

“One of those times, I got a picture in an airport in Dallas, Texas, when I was with my sister. We were sitting in the airport talking and she pointed and said it was Pete Rose. She and I, and her son, ended up getting a picture with him. Nobody else in the airport really noticed him.”

Ebert said that every time he met Rose, who finished his playing career with a record 4,256 hits, the star was friendly.

“Every time I talked to him he was very nice to me,” Ebert said. “And I know some people in Las Vegas who have met him and they all said the same thing.”

Rose died in his Nevada home on Sept. 30. His cause of death was determined to be hypertensive and atheroslerotic cardiocasvular disease, with a significant condition of diabetes mellitus from heart disease.

Rose won three batting titles in his 24-year career. He was named the National League MVP in 1973. 

In 1978, he hit safely in 44 straight games, the second-longest streak in MLB history.