Phillies Hot Stove History: The 1978 free agent signing of Pete Rose

Rose was the Phillies first-ever free agent signing and helped the club win their first World Series championship.
The Philadelphia Phillies frustratingly lost out on free agent starting pitcher Patrick Corbin. They supposedly remain among the most active bidders for  the big bats of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado as this off-season moves along.
It was forty years ago today that the Phillies made their first-ever free agent signing, and it was a big one. It turned out to have as positive an