The Death Row Baseball Team and Other Odd Episodes in History

The Death Row Baseball Team and Other Odd Episodes in History

Khalid Elhassan - May 18, 2020

The Death Row Baseball Team and Other Odd Episodes in History
The gallows trapdoor above which star player Joseph Seng stood, and through which he fell to his death by hanging less than a year after playing for the Alston All Stars. Daily Mail

33. The Killer Team’s Killer Record

Literally playing for time was a great incentive to be good, and during their brief existence, the Alston All Stars were one of the best teams in the West. The team lasted for only one season, and it was a pretty brief season at that. The convict players played only four games, but they won each and every single one.

The team’s star player, death row inmate Joseph Seng, was scheduled to be executed on August 22nd, 1911, but he was still alive to play for the team’s fourth victory on August 23rd. Many believed that he was being kept alive solely because of his baseball prowess. However, following the team’s fourth win, warden Alston, under pressure from the governor who hated gambling, shifted his focus from baseball to education for inmates. Seng’s stay of execution did not last forever: on May 24th, 1912 he met his end at the gallows and execution by hanging.

Also Read: When the World Series brought America to a Standstill.

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