The news of baseball great Pete Rose passing away brought back a memory.
In the days of the “Big Red Machine,” Pete Rose and Joe Morgan were scheduled to appear at the Lima Mall. Jack Burg, a coworker of mine and a loyal Reds fan, asked me If I was going to the mall to see them.
I replied, “Heck no, I’m not going to fight that crowd.”
After working all night and getting some sleep, the next afternoon I went to the SOHIO gas station located on state Route 65, between Hanthorn Road and Interstate 75. Ohio did not have self-pump back then, so I told the young man working there how much gas I wanted, and I stayed in my car. At that point in time, we were the only people at the station.
Soon, a silver-gray Lincoln Continental Mark III pulled into the station. I told the kid working there, “I think that is Pete Rose.” He said, “I think you’re right.”
Rose was asking him where the Howard Johnson was at. The kid told him to get back back onto Interstate 75 north, and he would soon see their sign in the sky. I still remember he was wearing a mint green shirt, and Joe Morgan was not with him nor anyone else.
When I went to work that night, I told my coworker I didn’t have to go to the mall to see Rose; I ran into him at a gas station.
Local news reported about 5,000 people came to the mall to see Rose and Morgan. At the gas station, there were three of us.
Victor Arnett
Lima
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