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Bat Masterson in 1879.

William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 24, 1853 or 1856 – October 25, 1921) was a legendary figure of the American Old West. He lived an adventurous life which included stints as a buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, gambler, frontier lawman, U.S. Marshal, and sports editor and columnist for a New York newspaper. He was the brother to lawmen James Masterson and Ed Masterson.

Bat Masterson was born to Irish parents, Thomas Masterson & Cathrine McGurk, in Henryville, Quebec. The baptismal records of "Bat" and his siblings are in the local Catholic church. "Bat" later claimed on U.S. census that he was born in Illinois or Missouri, but that was probably to improve on his tough side image.

Some details of Masterson's early life are disputed. He is reported to have been born on November 24 of either 1853 or 1856 in either Quebec, Canada, or in Illinois, United States His birth name was either William Barclay Masterson or Bartholomew Masterson, but it is known that during his adult life he called himself "the Genius." The 1870 census of St Clair County, Illinois, lists him as Bartholomaeus Masterson, age 17, born in Canada.

Some report that he was called "Bat" as a nickname for Bartholomew. A more colorful account is that he was called "Bat" because he carried a cane which he used as a club during fights. "Bat" was also a common nickname for boxers of the day—short for "battling."

Masterson was the second child of seven of Thomas and Catharina Masterson, and was raised on farms in New York, Illinois, Kansas and Quebec. In his late teens, he and two of his brothers, Ed and Jim, left their family's farm in Kansas to become buffalo hunters. While traveling without his brothers, he took part in the Battle of Adobe Walls (Texas) fighting against an overwhelming number of Comanche Indians. He then spent some time as a U.S. Army scout in a campaign against the Kiowa and Comanche Indians.

Deputies Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp in Dodge City, 1876

His first gunfight took place in Sweetwater, Texas (later Mobeetie), in 1876 when he was attacked by a man in a fight, allegedly because of a girl. The other man died of his wounds. Masterson was shot in the pelvis. Because of the injury, he had to carry a cane for the rest of his life.

In 1877, he joined his brothers in Dodge City, Kansas. Jim was a partner in a saloon there and Ed was a deputy sheriff. Soon after his arrival, Masterson came into conflict with the local marshal over the treatment of a man being arrested. He was jailed and fined, although his fine was later returned by the city council. He served as a sheriff's deputy alongside Wyatt Earp, and within a few months he was elected county sheriff of Ford County, Kansas. Fighting in Colorado on the Santa Fe side of its war against the Rio Grande railroad, Masterson continued as Ford County sheriff until he was voted out of office in 1879. During this same period his brother Ed was Marshal of Dodge City and was killed in the line of duty April 9, 1878.

For the next several years, he made a living as a gambler moving through several of the legendary towns of the Old West. He visited Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, leaving shortly before the famous "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral." He spent a year as marshal of Trinidad, Colorado.

The "Dodge City Peace Commission" June 1883.
From left to right,
Standing: W.H. Harris, Luke Short, Bat Masterson, W.F. Petillon.
Seated: Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Earp, Frank McLain and Neal Brown.

In 1883, he participated in a bloodless conflict and gunfighter gathering later called the Dodge City War. By 1889, he was living in Denver, Colorado, where he was involved with Soapy Smith in the infamous election ballot stuffing scandal. He purchased the Palace Variety Theater and married actress Emma Walters, on November 21, 1891. In 1892, he managed the Denver Exchange Club in Creede, Colorado, and continued to travel around the boomtowns of the West, gambling and promoting prize fights. He began writing a weekly sports column for George's Weekly, a Denver newspaper, and opened the Olympic Athletic Club to promote the sport of boxing.

Bat Masterson lived in the American West during a violent and frequently lawless period. He was well-known as a gunman, mostly because of self-promotion. He is confirmed to have killed only one man in a gunfight, not counting any he might have killed at the Battle of Adobe Walls or on the frontier. Despite Bat receiving more fame, his brother James was involved in more (three) gunfights than Bat but with little notoriety. His brother Ed, although depicted in films since as being somewhat out of his element in law enforcement, was in two shootouts during his service as a Dodge City lawman. Therefore, it was Bat's ability to self promote himself, more than any actual accomplishments, that likely led to his notoriety.

The authoritative Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters (Bill O'Neal, University of Oklahoma Press, 1979), lists Bat Masterson with one gunfight killing in three fights. When compared to many other well known gunmen of the Old West, including Dallas Stoudenmire, "Wild Bill" Hickok, and Clay Allison, Masterson has a less impressive record.

Bat Masterson left the West and went to New York City, where he continued his service as a lawman. President Theodore Roosevelt, on the recommendation of mutual friend Alfred Henry Lewis, appointment Masterson to the position of deputy to U.S. Marshal for the southern district of New York, under William Henkel. Roosevelt had met and become friendly with Masterson on several occasions. Masterson split his time between his writing and keeping the peace in the grand jury room whenever the U. S. Attorney in New York held session. He performed this service for about $2,000 per year from early 1908 until 1912 when President William Howard Taft removed Masterson from the position during Taft's purge of Roosevelt supporters from government positions.

Bat Masterson had a varied career as a scribe ranging from sports writer and editor to outspoken and passionate columnist. His career as a writer ran from circa 1883 until his death in New York in 1921.

Bat Masterson wrote a letter published in the Daily Kansas State Journal, on June 9, 1883, that mentioned his arrival in Dodge City, the famous Long Branch saloon, and his famous cohorts who made the Long Branch their headquarters during the so-called "Dodge City Saloon War". It was during this time that Bat met newspaper men Alfred Henry and William Eugene Lewis. Both journalists were destined to play a role in Masterson's future as a scribe.

Masterson published Vox Populi, a single edition newspaper focusing on local Dodge City politics in November 1884.

Masterson penned a weekly sports column for George's Weekly sometime after his arrival in Denver, Colorado, in the late 1890s.

While in New York City, Masterson met up again with the Lewis brothers. Alfred Henry Lewis eventually wrote several short stories and a novel "The Sunset Trail", about Masterson. Alfred Lewis encouraged Bat to write a series of sketches about his adventures which were published by Lewis in the magazine he edited, Human Life (circa 1907-08). Masterson regaled his readers with stories about his days on the frontier and his gunfighter friends. He also explained to his audience what he felt where the best properties of a gunfighter.

Masterson continued his writing career in New York at the New York Morning Telegraph circa 1904. Hired by the younger Lewis brother, William Eugene Lewis, he reprised his role as sports writer, later becoming the paper's sports editor. The politics, sporting events, theaters, fine dining establishments, and varied night life of his adopted city became fodder for his thrice weekly column "Masterson's Views on Timely Topics" for more than 18 years. W. E. Lewis eventually became the general manager and president of the company and promoted his friend Masterson to vice president and company secretary.

Bat Masterson and fellow New Yorker and writer Damon Runyon traveled in similar circles and became friends. Masterson is believed to be the inspiration for Damon Runyon's stories that include Sky Masterson, a character in Guys and Dolls. Runyon once commented on Masterson's abilities as a writer saying, "Bat had no literary style but he had plenty of moxie."

Bat Masterson died age 67 on October 25, 1921, while living and working in New York City. He collapsed from a heart attack at his desk after penning his final column for the New York Morning Telegraph. His body was taken to Campbell's Funeral Parlor and later buried after a simple service in Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York. His full name William Barclay Masterson appears above his epitaph on the large granite grave marker in Woodlawn. His epitaph states that he was "Loved by Everyone."

• "Every dog, we are told, has his day, unless there are more dogs than days."

• "New York is the biggest boobtown there is. They will buy any damned thing here."

• "If you want to hit a man in the chest, aim for his groin."

• "When a man is at the racetrack he roars longer and louder over the twenty-five cents he loses through the hole in the bottom of his pocket than he does over the $25 he loses through the hole in the top of his pocket."

• "There are those who argue that everything breaks even in this old dump of a world of ours. I suppose these ginks who argue that way hold that because the rich man gets ice in the summer and the poor man gets it in the winter things are breaking even for both. Maybe so, but I'll swear I can't see it that way."

(This last quotation was also Masterson's last words; it was the bit of column found on the typewriter Masterson was using before he died while typing).

"Bat Masterson" was a U.S. television series loosely based on the historical character. William Barclay "Bat" Masterson was portrayed by actor Gene Barry, who also played a lead role in later television shows "The Name of the Game" and "Burke's Law", among others. "Bat Masterson" appeared on NBC in 108 episodes from 1958 to 1961 and featured Masterson as a superbly dressed gambler in a black suit and derby more inclined to "bat" crooks over the head with his gold-knobbed cane than shoot them. The half-hour series, filmed in black and white, featured fairly literate scripts for a television western of the period. Hundreds of thousands of plastic derbies and canes were sold as children's toys during the series' run.

Dell Comics also published a short-lived comic book based on the series. First issue was published as Four Color Comics #1013, followed by Bat Masterson #2-9 (1960-62). All issues had photo covers. The stories were scripted by Gaylord DuBois. The series was partially sponsored by Sealtest.

"Masterson", by Richard Wheeler, describes a fictional trip from New York to California, where Bat meets film director William S. Hart and visits Wyatt Earp. The trip takes place in late 1919, just before the imposition of national prohibition of alcohol. Among other amusing observations he makes is the statement that Las Vegas is just an unimportant whistle stop town--"always was, always will be."

• http://captyak.tripod.com/batmasterson/
• Links to original newspaper articles about his arrest in Dodge City
• Additional stories about Bat Masterson
• Bat Masterson returns to Dodge City
• Bat Masterson meets New York City
• Benjamin Cardozo meets gunslinger Bat Masterson
• Bat Masterson, sheriff and gunfighter, possibly from Quebec
• Photo of Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp