Before John Dillinger became Public Enemy Number One, he was known by a very different nickname on the baseball diamonds of Indiana: "Jackrabbit."

The future bank robber played shortstop and batted leadoff for the semi-professional AC Athletics in Mooresville, Indiana. At just 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds, Dillinger made up for his small stature with speed, earning him his animal-inspired moniker as he wreaked havoc on the basepaths.

Getting Paid to Play

Dillinger wasn't just playing for fun. Local teams paid him to suit up, and throughout the summer of 1924, this cash-for-play arrangement kept him and his young wife financially afloat. His team-high batting average even earned him a $25 award from the Old Hickory Furniture Company. Behind Johnny Dillinger's hitting, the Athletics won the 1924 league championship.

While "semi-professional" might sound minor league, it meant something significant in 1920s small-town America: Dillinger was good enough that people would pay to watch him play, and teams would pay to have him on their roster.

Major League Potential?

According to family accounts, Dillinger had legitimate professional potential. His younger sister Frances insisted he was skilled enough to attract Major League scouts to tiny Martinsville, Indiana just to evaluate his play. Travis Thompson, Dillinger's great-nephew, confirmed the family lore: "He was good enough to go pro."

Even Indiana Governor Harry Leslie seemed to believe it. When Dillinger requested a prison transfer specifically to play baseball, Leslie vouched for him to the parole board, claiming the convict had "major league stuff in him."

Baseball Behind Bars (and on the Run)

Dillinger's love of baseball didn't end with his criminal career. While imprisoned at the Indiana State Reformatory in Pendleton, he played on the prison baseball team. And even while actively wanted by federal authorities, the die-hard Chicago Cubs fan couldn't resist catching games at Wrigley Field.

Imagine: America's most wanted man, sitting in the bleachers, munching peanuts and tracking balls and strikes while the FBI frantically searched for him. That's the kind of audacity that made Dillinger a legend.

So while John Dillinger never made it to the majors, he proved you could be talented at two very different careers—one just happened to be significantly more legal than the other. His path from promising shortstop to notorious outlaw remains one of the stranger "what if" stories in American sports history.

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