Wild Bill Hickok

Wild Bill Hickok, whose real name is James Butler Hickok, was a figure in the Old West known as a gunfighter and lawman. He came to the West as a stagecoach driver and then became a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska.

On August 2, 1876, Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota. He had violated his personal rule of not sitting with his back to the door when John McCall walked in unnoticed, walked to within a few feet of Wild Bill, and shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly. When shot, he was holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights, all black (the value of the fifth card is debated), which has become widely known as the "Dead Man's Hand". Hickok was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery Deadwood, South Dakota and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.

The motive for the killing is still debated - some say McCall may have been paid to kill Hickok, or it may have been the result of a dispute between the two men. At the trial, McCall was acquitted of the murder but was rearrested after bragging about the killing, and a new trial was held. The retrial was not considered to be double jeopardy because, at the time, Deadwood was not recognized by the U.S. as a legitimately incorporated town, as it was in Indian Country. The new trial was held in Yankton, Dakota Territory and this time McCall was found guilty and was hanged on March 1, 1877. The killing of Wild Bill and the capture of Jack McCall is re-enacted every evening in the summer in Deadwood.

COMMENTS:

C'mon, admit it,. if it was humanly possible, you'd love to see Wild Bill go heads up with Hellmuth.

It'd be great. Well..up until he shot Phil...

AdamWolf on October 17, 2006

been there is a good reason that he's not done much at the wsop or make a final table on the wpt.

Unregistered on September 29, 2005

Do any of the cards shown at the museum have blood on them?

Bill Hickok on September 22, 2005

was the original mans man..he could take on 8 hombres at once...i aint talking about gunfights her..he was the master cockfighter,and smoker

wild bill on August 26, 2005

Jack Of Diamonds As The 5th Card? No, It Was A Queen. This Is Because When The Picked Up His Cards There Was A Bloody Boot Print On The Queen, Signifying He Was Holding It. Since My Viper License Plate Reads Aa88q, I Hope Im Right

AA88 J? on August 23, 2005

"Posted by: JetsFan315 - that reason is NEITHER OF THE TOURNAMENTS EXISTED WHEN HE WAS ALIVE! the WPT was made in 03 and WSOP in 1970. hes a poker hall of famer, there is also must be a reson for that"

I now realise that people weren't lying to me when they said Americans don't understand irony...

Ben on August 12, 2005

when is Johnny Moss gonna get on here. he is the only 1 who has won the WSOP main event 3 times besides ungar, who both r legends.

JetsFan315 on August 9, 2005

I don't know how good a poker player he was but I would be willing to bet that no one on this site has made there living for several months at a time killing people and playing poker as he did.

IrishRover on August 8, 2005

can u make it any more obvious then this that u have been lying, HICKCOCK HAS BEEN DEAD FOR LIKE 200 YEARS!

JetsFan315 on August 4, 2005

spoke with wild bill hickock last nite he said to watch out for me in the 2006 wsop

englishcat on August 3, 2005

He Was A Hick & A Redneck

james on July 31, 2005

"Posted by: Ben on Jul 31, 2005 - IP=86.130.86.210 No way Jetsfan, he's not done much at the WSOP and I've never seen him make a final table on the WPT or anything."

that reason is NEITHER OF THE TOURNAMENTS EXISTED WHEN HE WAS ALIVE! the WPT was made in 03 and WSOP in 1970. hes a poker hall of famer, there is also must be a reason for that

JetsFan315 on July 31, 2005

No way Jetsfan, he's not done much at the WSOP and I've never seen him make a final table on the WPT or anything.

Ben on July 30, 2005

r u kidding me? he is a legend, he is in the poker hall of fame.

JetsFan315 on July 28, 2005

he was a terrible gambler. back then five card draw was a cheaters game and he wasnt any kind of a machanic

loveland on July 13, 2005

I Will Kill Bill!

the bride on May 30, 2005

doc holiday will kill wild bill on poker anyday

bruce on May 16, 2005

I could out play this clown... I heard he sucked anyway...

BoonsFarm on May 14, 2005

When Wild Bill was young he ran across Jack McCall during a cattle drive and McCall was a hot head and Wild Bill set him straight and made him leave the drive. WB always sat with his back to the wall during a poker game but this time he didn't. He felt uneasy about it and at the end of his last hand he was going to change chairs when Jack McCall who had a long history with Wild Bill shot him.

randaddy on May 5, 2005

just at deadwood three months ago. Salloon #10 has a chair mounted in a glass case up on a wall above the door you enter. This is purportedly the same chair Wild Bill was killed in while playing poker. Anyone here who has a desire to see Deadwood should get their ass in gear an go... the history is alive and well. Even if Bill isn't.

dayton on April 30, 2005

I dont think the guy intended to shoot him necessarily. I think he was aiming at that overgrown caterpillar on Hickocks face and missed.

the real story on April 30, 2005

I think maybe he was in the whole thing with mccall or maybe he was to concentrated on the game.either way,(ALAIN'/Kracker HE DID NOT DESERVE TO BE SHOT

padme on April 18, 2005

anybody got a pix of hickock and McCall in the same frame? the player across from Bill should have warned him. Why didn't he do you suppose?

morybund on March 31, 2005

You're all a bunch of hoopleheads.

Bill Swearingen on March 16, 2005

Wild Bill was a sheriff not a marshal was he not? Not that that means much here nor there :P. Either way he's a dead guy who desereved to be shot.

Alain/ chaos.boarder on March 8, 2005

No, he is a little older than Lorenzo Lame-Ass

Information Desk on March 4, 2005

I rule and would definitely beat any of you in NL...school is in session.

Unregistered on February 27, 2005

It says that his older brother is named Lorenzo........Would that be Lorenzo Llamas of "RENEGADE"??? He is such a dreamboat!!!

Santa on February 25, 2005

Wow... I live in Yankton.

pirates66 on February 8, 2005

You are all wrong about the composition of the cards. They are the ace of diamonds, the ace of clubs, the eight of hearts, the eight of spades and the queen of hearts. They can be seen at the Adams Museum in Deadwood, SD, and were donated with documentation by my father, Richard H. Stephens who received them from Richard Stephens, the man who picked them up, and passed through to him by his father, James Stephens. Go check it out. They have been there since the mid-1970's.

My Great Grandfather was there on January 19, 2005

I agree DOC HOLIDAY was a better card player

nate j on January 10, 2005

doc holiday was better card player than hiitcock

bruce on December 14, 2004

how did he get the name of Wild Bill?

Corey Kissling/Kisser on November 7, 2004

Its Acatually Old Saloon No. 10 I've been there

Willy The Kid on October 17, 2004

Old Style Saloon No. 10 (saloon10.com) in Deadwood shows a 9 diamonds on their site as the card which will win you the "Deadman's Hand Bonus"

B.. on October 10, 2004

The "Dead Man's Hand" was black aces over black eights, the the fifth card is an area of contention between three cards (in order of credability): The 5 of Diamonds (The actual card is supposedly on display in Deadwood), 9 of Diamonds, and the Queen of Clubs (On display at Ripley's Believe it or Not.) All three are supposedly reported by first hand accounts. However, the Jack of Diamonds and King of Spades have both been potrayed in movies as the "fifth" card, due to thier more "photogenic" natures.

Nachtwulf on September 13, 2004

This guy owes me money

greg on August 4, 2004

yup

Unregistered on August 3, 2004

is that really a picture of wild bill?

charlie on August 2, 2004

dead mans hand made me some money. thanx bill.

Tryla on July 22, 2004

Worm

Wild Bill Hickok

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