Commissioned by the Cincinnati Art Museum, Warhol created a 4 image, acrylic on canvas screen print series to commemorate baseball player Pete Rose who broke the record for all time hits. Pete Rose still holds that record, and was especially celebrated as a lead player for the Cincinnati Reds, who dominated the National league in the 1970s. Once Warhol began taking commissioned artworks, the subjects of his portraits expanded greatly, away from just actors and actresses to athletes and public figures. He also painted Wayne Gretsky and Christer Kellgren (two pro hockey players)—which were collected by fans of both the players and Warhol—as well as many other notable athletes such as Muhammad Ali.
