Pete Rose was banned from baseball for gambling, and one shoe company is willing to wager that its support of Rose in his quest to be voted into the Hall of Fame will pay dividends.

On Tuesday, Pony announced the signing of Rose to be part of its anti-establishment "Why Not?" advertising campaign that also feature former Oakland Raiders stars Jack Tatum and Kenny Stabler, both of whom -- like Rose -- have not been voted into the Hall of Fame.

"It's nice for me to know that someone's in my corner," Rose said Tuesday.

The European footwear and apparel company that in the 1970s and '80s used to compete with the likes of Puma, Converse and adidas, has recently made a comeback thanks to the placement of its brand on members of musical groups like KoRn.

"Pete Rose is the greatest player that ever played the game and we're willing to put the money, effort and marketing behind getting him reinstated, even if it means potentially alienating some people who want to do business with us," said David Schulte, president of the Pony brand.

Rose agreed to a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball in 1989 following an investigation of his gambling. The former Cincinnati Reds star, the career major league leader in hits, is ineligible for the Hall of Fame ballot while he is on the permanently banned list.

"We all in this room know I made mistakes in the past. I'm very sorry I made those mistakes, but I can't change what happened in the mid-80s," said Rose, a 17-time All-Star and 1973 National League MVP.

The "Why Not?" campaign is a multi-million dollar ad campaign, which will be seen on billboards and magazines, and heard on the radio.

The Rose ads will start to appear in July as talk of the Hall of Fame is at its height, and will conclude in October after the World Series, Schulte said. One of the ads will show Rose sitting at a bus station, packed and ready to go, but the sign behind him says the bus to Cooperstown was cancelled.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.Rovell@espn.com. Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.