FLORENCE — Major League Baseball’s all-time hit leader, Pete Rose, will be the featured speaker at the University of North Alabama’s 2020 Lion Pride Dinner and Auction at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center at 5:30 p.m. August 13.

Sponsorship packages for the event are available now. Tables of eight are on sale for $1,000 each. Any remaining unsold individual tickets will go on sale on June 1.

Rose, a switch hitter during his playing days from 1963 to 1986, is the all-time MLB leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and singles (3,215). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, and the Rookie of the Year Award. He also made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five positions (second baseman, left fielder, right fielder, third baseman, and first baseman).

He played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1963-78, the Philadelphia Phillies from 1979-83 and the Montreal Expos in 1984. He was player-manager of the Reds from 1984-86, and continued to manage the team after retiring as a player until 1989.

In August 1989, Rose was penalized with permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while he played for and managed the Reds.

To become a sponsor or purchase a table to the 2020 Lion Pride Dinner and Auction, call 256-765-4615 or email smlovelace@una.edu.