Pete Rose Admits He Bet on Baseball

Jan. 8 -- After denying it for nearly 15 years, sports legend Pete Rose is admitting that he bet on baseball and on his own team while managing the Cincinnati Reds.

"I bet on baseball in 1987 and 1988," the baseball great told ABCNEWS' Charles Gibson in an interview on Primetime Thursday.

"That was my mistake, not coming clean a lot earlier," he said.

The revelation is also expected to be included in Rose's new autobiography published by Rodale, My Prison Without Bars, which is to be released the same day.

In his interview with Primetime, Rose says he bet on his own team, but never against it.

"I believed in my team. I knew my team. It never altered the way I tried to run the game," he said.

He says betting against his own team was the last thing he considered, "because I want to win every game."

And he also says he bet without taking into consideration how drastic the penalties would be, or believing he'd get caught. Rose was banned from baseball in 1989, a move that made him ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

"You don't think you're going to get caught," he said. He said he didn't think he was special, or above the law.

"I think what happens is you're, at the time, you're betting football and then, then what's after football is basketball … and obviously the next thing that follows is baseball. It's just a pattern that you got into."

Reinstatement?

The admission could open the door for Rose to be reinstated by Major League Baseball and voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Over a three-decade career in baseball, Rose earned the nickname "Charlie Hustle" for his aggressive play and desire to win. He set dozens of records — including breaking Ty Cobb's record for the most hits ever. That achievement, on Sept. 11, 1985, earned him a nine-minute ovation.