Four security guards slowly escorted “Charlie Hustle” into the Liberty Township Kroger Marketplace as his admirers yelled, “Pete!” late this morning – the day that his DVD “4192: The Crowning of the Hit King” was released.
Kevin Richards of Fairfield Township was the first admirer in line for the opportunity to meet his childhood hero, Pete Rose, in person.
>>>PHOTOS OF PETE ROSE SIGNING<<<
“Pete was a major hero of mine and I wanted to meet him in person ever since I was in knothole,” said Richards, who arrived at the Kroger at 3:30 a.m. for the signing which started shortly before 10:30 a.m.
Overnight, Richards read and slept when he could in his lawn chair. Briefly, he tried to rest on the couches at the Kroger Marketplace, but was told by store security that he wasn’t allowed to use the furniture.
Prior to this morning’s event, Richards had only been to one sports signing.
Rodney Wagner of West Chester, who was second in line, had been to many signings in the past. Wagner, a lifelong Reds fan, had been going to RedsFest for years, but hadn’t been to a Rose signing prior to today.
Wagner arrived at the Kroger around 6 a.m. this morning.
The crowd was small for most the morning. Wagner says that there were only about 12 people in line at 8 a.m. In the next hour, the line grew and eventually wrapped around the entire furniture department. By 10:30 a.m., there were more than a hundred people waiting to meet the all-time hits king.
Rose (photo – click to enlarge) only signed “4192” items that were purchased at the store and only signed two items per person.
Besides the DVD, Rose fans were able to purchase “4192” t-shirts, hats, mini bats, baseballs and pennants.
Kroger was selling the DVD for $9.99 and still has many copies available.
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