James Butler ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok

Wild Bill Hickok became a legend in his own lifetime, a fact that says a lot about a man who was roaming the Old American West in the second half of the 19th century. He is most famous for his gunmanship, which has greatly inspired almost every book, film or TV show about the Wild West. He was also known as a great poker player, and one of his many enemies finally caught up with him while he was sitting at a poker table playing Seven Card Stud.

Wild Bill was a sheriff and city marshal in many frontier cities in the Old West, and at the same time was a professional gambler. Between his law enforcement duties and his poker action, he accumulated many enemies, but his reputation as one of the fastest draws in the West helped him keep his enemies away most of the time. He was not only great with guns, but also a fierce fighter who feared nothing. Tales of Hickok wrestling and killing bears with a bowie knife circulated as hard facts in the Old West, though no one knows if this actually ever took place. During the American Civil War he joined the Union forces, and served as a scout, mainly in Missouri and Kansas.

Wild Bill invented practices which later became cornerstones in many fictional portrays of the Wild West. One of his innovations was to ‘post' men out of town. While he served as constable of Monticello Township, Kansas, he would post pictures of men he wanted do drive out of town on what was known as ‘the dead man's tree'. He proclaimed he would shoot these men on sight come the following day, and they usually didn't hang around to see if he really meant it.

The first ‘quick draw' duel ever to be recorded in history was one that took place between Wild Bill and Davis Tutt, Jr. in Springfield, Missouri on July 21st, 1865. The two had been playing poker in a local salon, and got into a fight over some cards. They decided to settle their dispute in the public square at 6 P.M. with a duel. The men were standing 50 yards apart when Tutt drew and fired. His shot missed, but Wild Bill's shot, which had gone off a split second after Tutt's, went strait to Tutt's heart, and killed him instantly.
Since Tutt had shot first, Hickok was found innocent of murder after pleading self-defense. This incident has inspired countless moments in American culture. All the ingredients of a classic story can be found in it - the ‘good guy' only shoots after the ‘bad guy' has already drawn, making his actions morally sound. No one knows what the dispute was about or who was right, but this moment ultimately gave Wild Bill his reputation and changed American History forever.

Wild Bill had several men that sought to do him harm at any given moment and in any given place. That's why he always played poker sitting with his back to the wall, and facing the entrance. On August 2, 1876, he walked into the Nuttal & Mann's Saloon in Deadwood (in the Black Hills Dakota Territory), looking to join a Seven Card Stud game that was already in progress. Unfortunately, there was no open corner seat. Wild Bill sat with his back to the door, and that turned out to be a fatal mistake. He was shot from behind by Jack McCall, and had no chance to respond. He died instantly. According to legend, Wild Bill was holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights when he died, and till this day that hand is known as the ‘Dead Man's Hand'.

Wild Bill Hickok was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.

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