The Wyoming State Penitentiary All Stars was a team that featured only the hardest of hardened criminals.  Posted on nypost in 2014,   The Penitentiary All Stars were a fleeting sensation, a collection of random convicts that just happened to be great at America’s favorite sport.  Led by their star player, convicted murderer of his lover’s husband Joseph Seng, the All Stars were a pawn in an ongoing political power struggle by state officials. They played just four games, winning all, but every one was infused with more drama than a modern World Series.

That the small town of Rawlins would allow such miscreants to enjoy the game’s pleasures is surprising, as the frontier town had long shown a strict, old-world approach to conquering crime.  “Desperadoes caught in the act of robbery, rape or murder in the town were not only hanged but sometimes actually skinned,” write the authors. “Various items were made from the hides of these unfortunate lawbreakers, sold as souvenirs, and used as a warning to other would-be felons.”

One such unlucky felon, George Parrott, killed two deputy sheriffs during an attempted train robbery. “He was lynched for the murders by Rawlins citizens in 1881,” they write, “and shoes were made from his skin.”  The Wyoming State Penitentiary opened in 1901, and, in keeping with the mood of the town, subjected its prisoners to harsh conditions, especially under the command of Otto Gramm.  Gramm was a millionaire who established a broom factory in the prison. The state paid him to look after the prisoners, he paid for their “well-being,” and after they spent their days assembling his brooms, he sold them for healthy profits, earning almost $250,000 from 1903-1911.

According to prisoners, the conditions under Gramm were “merciless” and “of the Dark Ages,” saying that, “meals were calculated down to the last bean so that just enough food was served to prevent starvation.” Read more on this story by clicking here.