Alabama Pitts

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  1. ↑ Outlaw Ballplayers and Pro-Football-Reference.com list his date of birth as November 22, 1909, [1] [2] which is the date listed on his death certificate. [3] The Associated Press listed his age at death as 30 years old. [4] The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) lists his date of birth as March 1, 1910. [5] His tombstone lists his birth date as December 18, 1906, which was added through a church initiative after his funeral. [3]
  2. ↑ Outlaw Ballplayers stated the stolen amount as $76.25, [7] whereas the Associated Press had the amount as $72.50. [4] An article in The Charlotte Observer from 1935 said only $10 was stolen, but SABR confirmed it was $76.25 and that the $10 claim was made up by Pitts. [5]
  3. ↑ Eagles owner Bert Bell said in 1949 that he had signed Pitts to a $500 per game contract, since he only played in three of the contracted regular season games. [24]
  4. ↑ SABR lists his date of death as June 6, 1941, but later says the incident began around 3 a.m. on June 7. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 33.
  2. ↑ "Alabama Pitts Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 51.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Stabbing is fatal to 'Alabama' Pitts" (PDF). The New York Times. June 8, 1941. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Davlin, Josh and Hank Utley. "Alabama Pitts". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bryan, Jerry (June 5, 1935). "Alabama Pitts Is 'Blackballed' By League Head". The Birmingham News . Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 34.
  8. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, pp. 34–35.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 35.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 36.
  11. ↑ "Sing Sing Adopts Rockne Grid System". Palladium-Item . September 8, 1932. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Foes Quail When Alabama Pitts Plays for Dear Old Sing Sing". The Courier-Journal . November 5, 1931. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 36–37.
  14. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 37.
  15. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 38.
  16. ↑ Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, pp. 38–39.
  17. ↑ Copy of decision, in re: player E. C. Pitts, Kenesaw M. Landis, Baseball, Office of the Commissioner, June 17, 1935 Archived April 9, 2022, at the Wayback Machine , University Libraries Division of Special Collections, The University of Alabama.
  18. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 42.
  19. ↑ "Alabama Pitts Makes Two Hits, Wins Acclaim of Fans in Debut" (PDF). The New York Times . June 24, 1935. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  20. ↑ Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 43.
  21. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 44.
  22. 1 2 Bowen, Les (2011). Philadelphia Eagles: The Complete Illustrated History. Minneapolis, Minnesota: MVP Books. p. 10. ISBN   9780760340356. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Alabama Pitts to Play Professional Football With Philadelphia Team". The Miami News . September 9, 1935. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Abrams, Al (November 10, 1949). "Remember Alabama Pitts?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022– via Google News Archive.
  25. ↑ Frank, Reuben (July 26, 2020). "The amazing story of Alabama Pitts: Robber, prisoner and Philadelphia Eagle". NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Reading Eleven Tops New Rochelle, 16–0" (PDF). The New York Times. October 28, 1935. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  27. ↑ Garlikov, Ben (December 22, 1935). "Alabama Pitts' All-Stars Face Pros Here Sunday". Dayton Daily News . Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Pitts' All Stars Bow to Big Five". The Philadelphia Inquirer . December 10, 1935. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Alabama Pitts Doesn't Play Much Basketball, But He Makes Friends". Dayton Daily News. December 23, 1935. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  30. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 48.
  31. ↑ "Grays Bolstered by New Hurdles". The Plain Speaker . July 2, 1936. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  32. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 45.
  33. 1 2 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 46.
  34. ↑ "Bay Parkways Play Tie" (PDF). The New York Times. November 30, 1936. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Danbury on Top, 7–0" (PDF). The New York Times. December 17, 1936. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  36. ↑ Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 47.
  37. 1 2 3 Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 49.
  38. ↑ "'Alabama' Pitts Gets Decree" (PDF). The New York Times. April 15, 1937. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Alabama Pitts Hits Home Run Off Cupid". Daily News . December 14, 1937. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  40. ↑ "Convict Grid-Star Character Model for Picture Actor". Kilgore News Herald . February 12, 1933. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  41. ↑ "Alabama Pitts' Life Story to be Filmed Soon". The Berkshire Eagle . August 1, 1935. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  42. ↑ Soanes, Wood (December 10, 1935). "Curtain Calls". Oakland Tribune . Retrieved April 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com. James Cagney will impersonate Alabama Pitts in "Over the Wall," story of the convict who was paroled to organized baseball.
  43. ↑ Parsons, Louella O. (July 7, 1936). ""The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" To Be Filmed With Myrna Loy". The Dayton Herald . Retrieved April 4, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  44. ↑ "Prison melodrama comes to Mesa theatre Sunday". The Daily Sentinel . April 10, 1938. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  45. ↑ Curran, Bob (November 6, 1996). "'Alabama' Pitts, An Athlete Ahead of his Time". The Buffalo News . Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Alabama Pitts Laid in Grave". The Charlotte Observer . June 9, 1941. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  47. ↑ "Slayer of Pitts Is Convicted". Tampa Bay Times . December 11, 1941. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  48. ↑ Utley, Peeler & Peeler 2006, p. 50.

Bibliography

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Alabama Pitts
Alabama Pitts.JPG
Pitts in 1935
Born
Edwin Collins Pitts, Jr.

(1909-11-22)November 22, 1909
Opelika, Alabama, US
DiedJune 7, 1941(1941-06-07) (aged 31)
Valdese, North Carolina, US
Conviction(s) Armed robbery
Criminal penaltyEight to sixteen years (over five years served)
Baseball career
Outfielder
Minor League debut
June 23, 1935, for the  Albany Senators
Last Minor League appearance
1940, for the  Hickory Rebels