The year was 1911, and the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins was a cold, brutal place where the inmates had nothing to lose but their lives. However, for twelve convicted felons, a game of baseball became the only thing standing between them and the gallows.
This was not a recreational league or a way to pass the time. It was a high-stakes gamble orchestrated by a warden who loved the sport and politicians who loved the money they could make from it. The deal was simple and terrifying. If the team won, their executions were delayed. If they lost, the hangman was waiting.
A Roster of Killers
The lineup of the Wyoming State Penitentiary All Stars read like a most-wanted list. The team captain was George Saban, a man serving twenty-five years for shooting three sheep herders in the face. The catcher had killed his brother-in-law. The first baseman had bludgeoned a barber to death. Burglars, rapists, and forgers filled out the rest of the roster.
Warden Felix Alston organized this terrifying squad. He replaced the prison’s previous strict discipline with fresh air and exercise, but his motives were not purely humanitarian. He saw an opportunity to capitalize on the local obsession with baseball. He outfitted his prisoners in blue uniforms with white trim and arranged games against free teams from the surrounding area. The inmates entered the field in chains, which were only removed just before the first pitch was thrown.
The Star Player on Death Row
The team’s greatest asset was Joseph Seng. He was a handsome and talented shortstop who had been convicted of first-degree murder for killing a man over a woman. Seng was a true athlete who could hit home runs that cleared the prison walls. He was also next in line to die.
Seng became a local celebrity. Crowds flocked to the prison to watch him play, and newspapers covered his statistics with the same enthusiasm as the Major Leagues. While the fans cheered, Seng played with a desperate intensity. He knew that every home run he hit and every game the team won kept the warden happy and the executioner at bay.
Winning for Their Lives
The All Stars were incredibly successful. They won four straight games against the best amateur teams in the region. As they racked up victories, Warden Alston and his political cronies racked up thousands of dollars in gambling winnings. The scheme worked perfectly for a time. The more the team won, the more money the officials made, and the more stays of execution were granted to players like Seng.
However, the dark arrangement could not last forever. Rumors of the gambling ring and the special treatment for murderers began to circulate in the press. The public grew uneasy with the idea that a convicted killer could escape justice simply by hitting a ball over a fence.
The Final Out
The pressure from the community eventually forced the governor to crack down on the gambling. Without the financial incentive, the “Death Row All Stars” lost their protection. The team was disbanded, and the players were returned to their cells.
Joseph Seng played his final game in the summer of 1911. Despite his athletic heroics and the delays he had earned with his bat, his time finally ran out. On May 24, 1912, Seng was led to the gallows and executed, proving that while baseball could buy time, it could not buy freedom.
In 1911, twelve Wyoming death row inmates faced a terrifying deal: win at baseball or hang.
It wasn't a game for fun, it was a gamble for time.
Warden Alston promised to delay executions if they kept winning.
For the "All Stars," every pitch was a matter of life or… pic.twitter.com/quWGLARJSo
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