Alabama Pitts 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 . 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 withheld his appeal . Pitts went on to play for five years as a baseball player and two years as a football player , including one as a member of the National Football League ' s Philadelphia Eagles . Early years . Pitts was born in Opelika , Alabama , to Edwin Pitts , Sr . , a member of the cavalry , and Erma Mills Pitts . Edwin , Sr . died five months after his son ' s birth . Pitts ' mother gave him the nickname " Alabama " to distinguish him from his father , who was born in Georgia . She was remarried to Robert E . Rudd , and the couple had a daughter , Pitts ' half - sister , together . They divorced thereafter , and Pitts and his mother moved to Peoria , Illinois , where Erma became a telephone operator . After going to high school for a year , he enlisted in the Naval Academy at fifteen years old . He served for three years before he received an honorable discharge . After his military career , he wound up living in New York City , where he married in 1928 . His mother left Illinois to be with her son in New York . Armed robberies . In 1929 , Pitts robbed a New York City grocery store with a gun and stole $ 76 . 25 ( presently , $ ) . He and his accomplice , James Murphy , were arrested as they tried to get away in a cab . Pitts was implicated in five previous robberies , and for his crimes was sentenced to eight to sixteen years in the Sing Sing prison in Ossining , New York . At Sing Sing , Lewis Lawes began reforming the prison when he became warden in 1919 . This reformation brought about the addition of sports teams to the correctional facility . Pitts played for a football team in the prison system , the Black Sheep , during his sentence . He also played basketball and baseball , in which he had a . 500 batting average in 21 career games with eight home run s . Lawes had Pitts ' sentence end three years early , and he was released in June 1935 after serving five years and two months . Before his release , however , he was noted by the " Los Angeles Times " in late 1934 as " the most prominent jail - bird athlete in America . " He went through a tryout with two professional football teams during his sentence . On May 22 , 1935 , Pitts signed a contract with the Albany Senators of the International League to play baseball for $ 200 a month ( presently , $ a month ) . Career . After his release from prison in June 1935 , Pitts ' signing with the Albany Senators generated controversy through the media . W . G . Bramham , the president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues , and Charles H . Knapp , the president of the International League , were against the idea of a former convict playing professional baseball . Knapp refused to approve Pitts ' contract and Bramham supported the decision . An executive committee of the National Association held a hearing on June 11 , 1935 , to review Bramham ' s actions . The committee supported Bramham , and Pitts announced that he would appeal to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis . On June 18 , Landis declared that Pitts could play professional baseball due to the " complete reformation in Pitts ' character " since the robberies . For the 1935 season , Pitts had a batting average of . 233 in 116 at bat s . Because of injuries , he only played in 43 games for the Senators in 1935 . Pitts signed a one - year contract worth $ 500 per game ( presently , $ per game ) on September 9 , 1935 , with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League ( NFL ) to play halfback and defensive back . Signed primarily for publicity reasons , he played in three games for the Eagles , recording two receptions for 21 yards . After the fourth game of the season , Pitts was released . He played basketball in 1936 for a traveling team called the " Alabama Pitts All - Stars . " After re - signing with the Senators , he was demoted to the York White Roses of the New York - Pennsylvania League in 1936 . The White Roses were forced to move to Trenton , New Jersey , due to flooding , where they became the Trenton Senators on July 2 . Pitts finished the season with a . 224 batting average in 156 at bats . His last game as a Senator was on July 6 . Pitts signed with the Charlotte Hornets of the " outlaw " Carolina League a few days later . Later in 1936 , he played football for the Stapleton Buffaloes and New Rochelle Bulldogs of the American Association . Pitts signed with the Winston - Salem Twins of the Piedmont League in 1937 . During his time with the team , he had a batting average of . 278 in 23 games . He was released by the Twins in June 1937 . He signed with the Gastonia Spinners of the Carolina League , but was released later the same month . The Valdese Textiles of the Carolina League picked him up , and he had a batting average of . 333 with the team . In between the 1937 and 1938 seasons , he worked in a hosiery mill in Valdese , North Carolina . He spent the 1938 season with the Textiles and Lenoir Finishers , with a batting average of . 268 . He returned to Valdese to work after the 1938 season . He was hired as the baseball coach at Valdese High School in 1939 . In 1940 he signed with the Hickory Rebels of the Tar Heel League , and he had a season batting average of . 303 . Death . On June 7 , 1941 , Pitts was stabbed to death in a tavern in Valdese , North Carolina , when he tried to dance with a woman that another man was dancing with .