Voting Station

William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson

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Crime Fighter

The Resume

    (November 26, 1853-October 25, 1921)
    Born in Henryville, Quebec, Canada
    Birth name was Bartholomew Masterson
    Buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, lawman, gambler and sports editor/columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph
    Policeman for Dodge City, Kansas (1876)
    Sheriff of Ford County, Kansas (1877-79)
    U.S. marshal in Trinidad, Colorado (1882)
    Deputy sheriff in Las Animas, Colorado (1883)
    U.S. marshal in Creede, Colorado (1892)
    Appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt as U.S. marshal of the southern district of New York State (1905-07)
    Died of a heart attack while typing at his newspaper desk at age 67
    Exploits the basis for the NBC TV series 'Bat Masterson' starring Gene Barry (1958-61)

Why he might be annoying:

    Shot in the pelvis during an 1876 gunfight (plus an inaccurate TV portrayal) led to the misconception he needed a cane to walk.
    While living in Dodge City, he was shacking up with an ex-hooker who was killed in a bar fight with another woman in a jealous rage over him.
    He was a practical joker.
    His first try as a newspaperman in 1885 failed as his paper, the Vox Populi, folded after a single issue.
    For a short time in 1886, he became a prohibitionist and closed all Dodge City saloons.
    His gunslinger reputation and the amount of men he killed have been highly exaggerated.
    As his gambling debts and disdain for the Old West increased, he felt compelled to move from Denver to New York City (1902).
    Upon his arrival he was promptly busted for illegal gambling.

Why he might not be annoying:

    As a scout, he had to defend territory more than once against Indian attacks.
    For a time in Kansas, he worked alongside Wyatt Earp.
    His brother Ed, marshal of Dodge City, was killed in the line of duty by a cowboy (April 9, 1878).
    His brother was able to reveal who shot him before dying and he immediately killed the cowboy to avenge his brother.
    He loved boxing, and in 1892, managed the Denver Exchange Club in Creede, Colorado, promoting fights and fighters such as John L. Sullivan and Gentleman Jim Corbett.
    He befriended Teddy Roosevelt and was afforded several visits to the White House.
    Magazine editor Alfred Henry Lewis persuaded him to write a series of articles about his days in the Old West, published in Human Life magazine.
    He worked for 18 years as a writer for the New York Morning Telegraph, churning out his thrice weekly column entitled 'Masterson's Views on Timely Topics.'
    He once quoted in his column '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.'
    His friend Damon Runyon named the lead character in his 'Guys and Dolls' story turned Broadway play/movie Sky Masterson in his honor.

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 87 Votes: 47.13% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 47 Votes: 78.72% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 74 Votes: 60.81% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 79 Votes: 39.24% Annoying