Death Row All Stars by Enss Chris & Howard Kazanjian

Author:Enss, Chris & Howard Kazanjian
Language: ara
Format: epub
Publisher: TwoDot
Published: 2014-09-02T04:00:00+00:00

Warden Alston’s son poses with members of the Wyoming State Penitentiary All Stars. Joseph Seng is in the back row, far left. Wyoming State Archives, Dept. of State Parks & Cultural Resources

In mid-­August 1911 Saban was still a frequent guest at the Klondike Bar, which was attracting business due to the straight betting on the convict baseball game that patrons could indulge in there. According to historian Rans Baker, the establishment enjoyed a fair amount of activity, but it was rarely crowded. It was a favorite stop for miners, railroad employees, and local businessmen, and Saban and guard D. O. Johnson were always treated courteously there. According to historian Duane Shillinger, the Klondike Bar wasn’t doing anything other taverns weren’t doing. Under-­the-­table gambling was an expected accompaniment to the Old Pepper Whisky and Old McBrayer Bourbon they served. “At the time,” Shillinger noted, “every baseball game played in Rawlins, prisoner or otherwise, was bet on at the gambling dens.”4

Among the characters that kept company with Saban at the different saloons in town was Ora Allen. Allen held a variety of jobs in Wyoming and Colorado. He was a prospector with a copper claim and had invested heavily in a mining development company; he was a farmer with a family ranch that he worked with his brother; he was a land speculator, he was a father, and he was a gambler. Allen also owned and operated a hack line, a stable of horses used for trail rides. The business was called Huskin and Allen, and he not only used the horses to take groups out in a long line trail ride, but also employed the animals when he traveled to his out-­of-­the-­way mining claims.5 He also may have used the horse business as a cover for the money he collected for Saban. He reasoned that suspicious authorities would be less likely to catch him on horseback as he rode into the mountains to his claims.6

Allen and Saban made a good team.7 Allen carried Saban’s message about Warden Alston’s influence over the team’s players to saloons in Cheyenne and Thermopolis, repeating Saban’s assertions that the warden had promised to lessen the inmate ballplayers’ prison time and stay executions if the team continued winning. When necessary to drive up the number of wagers, Allen also relayed the threat to death row inmates about ending their lives if they lost a game.8

On August 13, 1911, the Wyoming State Penitentiary All Stars were dutifully led onto the baseball field at the prison by a handful of guards. The Wyoming Supply Company Juniors were waiting for them, and the spectators in attendance erupted in applause for the teams and cheered in anticipation of the game about to be played. The August 17, 1911, edition of the Rawlins Republican included a succinct article about the game entitled “Prisoners Win Again.” It began, “Another game of baseball was played Sunday morning at the penitentiary between Warden Alston’s All Stars and the Wyoming Supply Company Jrs.

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