ROSE, IRVING S. "NIG" (7 Feb. 1893-6 Aug. 1972), a leader in promoting amateur baseball, was born Isadore Rosenstein, in Cleveland, the son of Maurice and Ida Mirlavitze Rosenstein. While attending St. Edward High School he won medals as a sprinter in 1910. After high school, Rose went to work for Clothier MAX ROSENBLUM in 1916, retiring as vice president of the firm in 1967.
When Rosenblum organized the Cleveland Rosenblums in 1925 to compete in the newly-formed American Basketball League, Rose managed the team which won the league championship in 1925-26, 1928-29, and 1929-30. Although he collaborated with Rosenblum in promoting local sports enterprises, he was most closely associated with the Cleveland Baseball Federation beginning in 1919. As treasurer of the Federation for over 50 years, he was responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to equip Cleveland youngsters playing sandlot baseball and set up a fund to cover medical expenses for injuries incurred during the games. The cornerstone of his successful fund-raising was the Sandlot Day exhibition baseball game played annually by the CLEVELAND INDIANS beginning in 1948. For many years Rose also was chairman of the Muny Softball Association which named a softball field in Brookside Park after him in 1970. In 1978 he was elected to the GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS HALL OF FAME.
Rose married Tillie Weiss in 1917 and they had 3 children, Norton, Earl, and Florence Kesselman. A resident of SHAKER HEIGHTS, Rose died in Cleveland and was buried in Mayfield Cemetery.