Alabama Pitts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Pitts in 1935 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Edwin Collins Pitts, Jr. November 22, 1909 Opelika, Alabama, US | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | June 7, 1941 (aged 31) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conviction(s) | Armed robbery | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criminal penalty | Eight to sixteen years (over five years served) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Baseball career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minor League debut | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 23, 1935, for the Albany Senators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Minor League appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1940, for the Hickory Rebels | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minor Leagues statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| At bats | 589 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hits | 156 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .265 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defensive chances | 320 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Putouts | 294 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fielding percentage | .941 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International League
New York–Pennsylvania League Carolina League
Piedmont League Tar Heel League | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Edwin Collins "Alabama" Pitts Jr. (November 22, 1909 – June 7, 1941) was an American convicted felon who garnered media attention in his attempt to play professional baseball after his release from Sing Sing prison. While serving five years for robbing a grocery store at gunpoint, he played for the prison baseball and American football squads. After being denied the ability to play for the Albany Senators of the International League in 1935 by the president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, he appealed to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who granted his request.
Pitts went on to play for five years as a baseball player for the Albany Senators; York White Roses and Trenton Senators of the New York–Pennsylvania League; Charlotte Hornets, Gastonia Spinners, Valdese Textiles, and Lenoir Finishers of the Carolina League; Winston-Salem Twins of the Piedmont League; and Hickory Rebels of the Tar Heel League. He played football for two years, including one as a member of the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles. Two films (The Billion Dollar Scandal and Over the Wall) produced in the 1930s were inspired by his life story, and he was fatally stabbed at a tavern in June 1941.