Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-06-02

never roll into this historic spot
through the green hills Of Spring
without remembering friend who
is gone and stranger whose life
goes on. perhaps. in more valuable
ways. thanks 10 the thing that
brought us all together in this
town one summary day such as
this.
The friend was Eddie Neil. or
Edward J. Neil, AS the sports
pages knew him. sports writer for
the Associated Press in his time.
top man down under the guns
when the leather sang, the hard
driven missels scared toward open
spaces and the roaring crowd came
up with its thunder.
1t wasn't much of a story that
was bringing us away up here.
They'd turned a convict loose in
the great prison down the river.
and the ball club up here was
going 10 give him a chance. You
may remember the boy. His name
was Alabama Pitts. He'd attained
a certain measure of fame inside
the grim walls of Sing Sing as an
unusually able athlete.
He'd been sent up for armed
robbery from the city Of New
York. il seemed. and his was the
standard tale of poor southern
waif who thumbed it up TO the
big town to fall in with a dead
end gang, with the usual results.
1t was the sports writers who
changed his billing from number
10 a name. II seemed the con-
yicts called him Alabama" because
OF his drawl. Somebody said his
real name was Pitts. although no.
body ever really knew; hence the
title by which he became sports
page copy.
SING SING SPORTSMANSHIP
He'd served his time, the public
lily had made him figure and.
with the warden's consent and
partial sponsorship, he was to be
given a tryout in the International
League. We were on our way 10
cover his debut. Pitts was only
pretty good, as l remember. but
we gave him the benefit of the
doubt and set him up in type like
Ty Cobb. After all, this
was pretty fast company for boy
from prison walls. His eye, among
other. things. wasn't attuned to
open distance.
But / think we were both more
IN took at this young
fellow in civilian clothes. and more
because of something he'd said in
prison than because anything
he'd done
1t had happened in a football
game the previous Fall. A highly
publicized semi-pro team was
locked with the Sing Sing convicts
in a tight and tempestuous battle
when one Of the best players of
the civilian side. either because he
lost his head or because he was
just naturally thug at heart,
hauled off in plain sight of the as
sembled multitude and hit Pitts,
the convict star, terrific clip on
the chin. knocking him as flat as a
founder.
1t was deliberate and palpable
foul and the officials tore in in full
force to collar the aggressor and
Danish him from the ball game.
penalizing the civilian team half
the distance TO the goal line.
1t was Pitts, himself. with a /
truly eloquent plea. who persuaded
the officials to ignore the entire
affair. He felt sure. he said. that
the man had only lost his head. He
said he wasn't hurt in the slight
est explaining with a grin that he'd |
been hit harder plenty Of times.
They were having a fine game. he
said, the other side needed this
fellow and penalty of half the
distance al that point would be a
dirty break the, other 10 players
didn't deserve.
There was quite conference
over it, the warden finally mixing
in, but Pitts eventually won his
point. T he culprit, apparently
thoroughly ashamed of himself.
apologized TO the best of his ability
and offered his hand. which Pitts I
took.
II was after the game and the
convict team was in the showers