Pythias Russ (April 7, 1904 – August 9, 1930) was an American catcher, shortstop, and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues whose career and life were cut short by illness. Russ was a star college athlete in baseball, basketball, and track and field. He was named an All-American football player in 1924. Candy Jim Taylor signed him to play for the Memphis Red Sox for the 1925 season, where he split catching duties with Larry Brown and hit .327. He moved to the Chicago American Giants in 1926 and hit .268 that season. In 1927, Russ batted .350 and was 8 for 35 in the 1927 Colored World Series.