Stories that were fun at a time sometimes feel even funnier when they’re told years later. The controversial manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Pete Rose, had one such story. This incident happened during his younger days as a military man.
After his rookie year, Rose joined the Army Reserves in 1963, and a few years later went to Vietnam to serve under?‘The Yankee Clipper,‘ Joe DiMaggio.?
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During the Vietnam War, it was a lot of travel with six men in three station wagons, and at times it got quite monotonous. And Rose put it on himself to break that dullness by climbing on top of the moving car.?
Pete Rose scared the driver!!
There may not be good or funny days when they used to travel 400-500 miles in a car. And that was when the War was still ongoing.
Pete used to lay his legs out in the station wagon and watched the traffic for hours while traveling. So one day, they were traveling. And went slow in an area, to ‘break the monotony, Rose came up with a mischievous idea.
In Pete’s words, “I just got up and I went over, and I got up on the rack, put my hand over the windshield, and scared the hell out of the driver, Just screwing around.”?
Even when Graham Bensinger asked Rose about how he ended up there, he just said,?“It did break the monotony.”
Rose had seen and experienced war personally. After the war, he went on to become one of the greatest baseball players in history.
Did Rose wanted to be the part of the war?
Initially, when Pete was told that he might have to go to Vietnam for 23 days, he straightforwardly declined.?
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But when he got to know that Joe DiMaggio was going as well, his answer changed.
He just said,?“Sign me up!”
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DiMaggio had retired from the big leagues 12 years before Rose made his debut, but he was pretty obsessed with?The Yankee Clipper’s?56-game hitting streak. And also with the Yankees World Series wins.
What do you make Rose’s story? Let us know your valuable thoughts in the comments below.
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