Baseball HOF upholds ban on Pete Rose

Pete Rose's final hope for a chance at the Baseball Hall of Fame has been shut down by the institution's board of directors.

Though the 76-year-old had lobbied to be allowed to at least appear on ballots despite his lifetime ban from Major League Baseball for betting on games as both a player and manager, the Hall's president, Jeff Idelson, confirmed Thursday to ESPN's William Weinbaum that the board upheld their rule that keeps out anyone ruled ineligible by MLB itself.

"After extensive discussion, a vote was taken in which the Board ratified the resolution that was passed on February 4, 1991, known today as Rule 3(E) in the BBWAA's election rules," the organization said in a statement, according to Weinbaum. "As such, anyone deemed permanently ineligible by Major League Baseball, including Pete Rose, may not be considered for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame."

Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 after an investigation into the then-Cincinnati Reds skipper culminated with a 225-page document titled "The Dowd Report" - named for investigator and special counsel to the commissioner John M. Dowd - that provided evidence Rose had bet on games as a manager, including Reds games.

Despite the ban, Rose - who was baseball's all-time hits leader with 4,256 - still had a chance at Hall of Fame eligibility until the Baseball Writers Association of America voted to permanently forbid those blacklisted by MLB from induction in 1991.