The death row baseball team consisted of 12 convicted felons — three murderers, five thieves, three rapists, and one forger. Sheriff Alston was good friends with Wyoming Gov. Joseph Carey, who loved to gamble, and the death row inmates were arranged to play with some baseball teams, according to History Collection. It wasn’t pure fun and games, however, as the inmates were told that losing would add years to their sentence while winning will reward them with stays of execution and lessened time sentences — they were playing for their lives.

News spread of baseball games and a lot of gamblers bet on the All Stars, knowing that they would give their all to spare their lives. The inmates, indeed, played their best, which resulted in four wins and no losses. After their fourth victory, however, the governor put an end to gambling, perhaps to quell the rumors that Wyoming officials were placing bets on the baseball games (at least one judge and three politicians did, according to the Independent). This resulted in the games being stopped, and eventually, a new education program was put into place.

The team’s standout star was murderer Joseph Seng. Despite the All Star’s four wins, Seng’s death sentence was never commuted. Their wins only delayed the inevitable, and Seng was hanged on May 24, 1912, just nine months after his original execution date (via Daily Mail).