During his career, "Charlie Hustle" consistently batted over .300 and was an important component to the "Big Red Machine" that dominated the National League in the 1970's.

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photo © RTO Online Cincinnati ColorTyme Franchisee Ken Schimpf was awarded a Pete Rose autographed baseball after being named among the top 10 growth franchisees for 2005 during the 2006 ColorTyme convention in Memphis, Tennessee. See a complete photo gallery of the 2006 convention here. left to right - Bob Bloom, president of ColorTyme; Ken and Richelle Schimpf, ColorTyme franchisees, Rhonda Davis, ColorTyme's director of purchasing.

Recent podcast interviews with ColorTyme executives and franchisees

PLAY : Bob Bloom -President PLAY : Cort Hill - Franchisee PLAY : Mark Childers -Franchisee PLAY : Mark Martin - Franchisee PLAY : Tim Hogan - VP Operations PLAY : Scott/Louis Brown/Garcia - Franchisees

Pete "Charlie Hustle" Rose will keynote ColorTyme's 2007 National Convention in Cincinnati this week.

Photo galleries from past ColorTyme events

ColorTyme Winter Operations Meeting 2007 (381) ColorTyme Winter Operations 2006 (364) (185) ColorTyme Summer 2006 (352) Summer 2005 ColorTyme Winter Meeting 2005 (226) ColorTyme Summer 2005 (185) ColorTyme Charity Golf 2005 (14)

ColorTyme, the nation's oldest rent-to-own franchise, is expecting over 200 franchisees and vendors at the company's 2007 National Convention this week at the Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati, Ohio (see agenda below).

The event runs Wednesday, June 27th thru Sunday July 1st. The convention's theme, Don’t Walk - Run, is a perfect fit for ColorTyme's keynote speaker Pete Rose.

ColorTyme announced Rose as keynote speaker during the 2006 convention in Memphis, Tennessee where Cincinnati franchisee Ken Schimpf was awarded a Pete Rose autographed baseball after being named among the top 10 growth franchisees for 2005 (see photo at left).

RTO Online will cover the convention from Cincinnati. Please check www.rtoonline.com daily for updates, interviews, photo galleries and podcasts.

During his career, "Charlie Hustle" consistently batted over .300 and was an important component to the "Big Red Machine" that dominated the National League in the 1970's. During this time, Rose played on four league champions and two World Series winners. In 1975, Pete was named the World Series MVP, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and The Sporting News Man of the Year (See more below). Rose will also sign autographs for all attendees. ColorTyme franchisees will be treated to a night game at Cincinnati Reds Great American Ballpark Friday.

Peter Edward "Charlie Hustle" Rose
Peter Edward Rose was born April 14, 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Pete’s father, who played semi-professional football, was his biggest influence and encouraged him to play sports as a young boy. Rose spent his childhood playing baseball with friends and later played for his local little league team and at Western Hills High School. After graduation, Pete signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds and was assigned to play for the Reds minor league team in Geneva, New York. Rose improved his game, and was promoted through the ranks of the Reds organization for the next couple of years.

By the start of the 1963 season, Pete was the regular at second base. His hard working style prompted Hall-of-Fame Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford to label him "Charlie Hustle," a nickname that Rose would be known by for the rest of his career. He hit .273 that season and played in nearly every game. He was rewarded for his efforts that season and was named National League Rookie of the Year in 1963.

Rose's playing flourished from 1965 to 1973. He consistently batted over .300 and Pete was an important component to the "Big Red Machine" that dominated the National League in the 1970's. During this time, Rose played on four league champions and two World Series winners. In 1975, Pete was named the World Series MVP, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and The Sporting News Man of the Year.

As a free agent in 1978, Pete signed to play for the Philadelphia Phillies. Similar to his days with the Reds, Rose was instrumental on the Phillies pennant winning teams in 1980 and 1983 and led the team to the World Series Championship in 1980.

Prior to the 1984 season, Pete signed to play with the Montreal Expos. That relationship, however, was short lived. Rose was given the chance to return to the Reds during the summer of 1984. Once he was told that he could both act as a manager as well as play, his decision was made. On August 16, 1984, Pete was again a Cincinnati Red. On September 11 of the following year, Pete established his place in baseball history when he set the all-time major league hit record of 4,192 breaking Hall of Famer Ty Cobb's mark of 4,191. He totaled an amazing 4,256 hits by his retirement.

Pete Rose retired from baseball after the 1986 season, but his days with the Reds were not over. He served as manager from 1985 to 1988, helping the Reds to four consecutive second place finishes, and to this day is considered one of the best managers in baseball.

Pete currently lives in Florida and California. He has four children: Fawn, Pete Jr., Tyler and Kara.