Biographical Notes
Bat Masterson
Bat's support of Luke Short rekindled his own prestige in Dodge and he and Wyatt Earp used their influence to help elect Pat Sughrue sheriff of Ford County. In 1884 Kansas Democratic Governor George W. Glick was up for re-election. In the Short embroglio Glick had been an ally of Masterson, but Bat was a staunch member of the Republican Party and worked hard in support of John A. Martin's successful campaign. In 1885 and 1886 Bat remained in Dodge making his living gambling, and on rare occasion serving as a special deputy for Sheriff Sughrue. At the 1885 Fourth of July celebration a vote was taken for the most popular man in Dodge. Bat won. During this period the economics of Dodge was changing. More and more farmers were settling around the town. Texas cattle were forbidden to enter the area between March and December because they were believed to be infected with "Spanish Fever." With more farmers and fewer cowboys those favoring a wide open town were losing power to those wanting a more peaceful environment. In 1886 Bat's political allies were defeated in the city elections and Bat left town.
After Dodge, Bat traveled widely throughout the west as a successful professional gambler, but usually claimed Denver, Colorado, as home. Somewhere along the way he met Theodore Roosevelt and the two men became personal friends. On occasion, during this period, Bat did some police work, but it was always incident-specific and usually involved helping out a friend in trouble. He probably also did some bounty work on behalf of railroad express companies, detective agencies, or insurance companies. Legend has it that Bat was involved in the "Kansas County Seat Wars" but there is little evidence to back this up. (His brother Jim was involved.) It was a turbulent era and Bat regularly associated with a number of high profile gun fighters in a continuum of interesting escapades. He was a colorful character and his name was good copy in the eastern press and grist for storytellers everywhere. His reputation as a dangerous gunfighter was alive and well and the list of men that he allegedly killed grew longer.
In 1888 Bat purchased the Palace Variety Theater and Gambling Parlors in Denver. It was, at the time, the premier gambling palace, not only in Denver, but in the Western United States. The associated theater presented the very best acts available. In 1889 Bat served as bodyguard for Jake Kilrain prior to his fight with John L. Sullivan in Richburg, Mississippi. Sullivan defeated Kilrain in a bout that lasted seventy-five rounds. Bat is thought to have bet heavily on Kilrain and probably lost a lot of money on the fight. Bat is reported to have married Emma Walters, an actress that appeared at the Palace, on November 21, 1891, in Denver. The date is based on here-say and it is thought that Emma and Bat actually lived together for a number of years before that date. There is no record of a formal marriage ceremony, but Bat and Emma lived as husband and wife and Emma was recognized as his lawful wife by his friends. They had no children. When a wave of moral reform swept through Denver, Bat sold the palace and moved on to the new silver boom town of Crede, Colorado, where he managed The Denver Exchange.
The Exchange was considered to be the best saloon and gambling establishment in Crede and it was very profitable. The saloon side of the operation was run by Billy Woods. Woods claimed to be the heavyweight champion of Colorado and every Saturday night would fight any challenger who wished to step forward. Bat served as referee for these fights. Crede was a rowdy town and saw a great deal of gun play. One of the most famous incidents was the killing of Bob Ford by Ed. O. Kelly. Kelly became the man who killed the man who killed Jesse James. Although there were a number of serious incidents involving gun fire in Crede there were never any in Bat Masterson's Denver Exchange. It is believed that his reputation protected the place. In the fall of 1892 Bat resigned his position at the Exchange and headed to New Orleans to witness the prize fight between John L. Sullivan and James J. Corbett. Corbett defeated Sullivan in twenty-one rounds. This time Bat had backed the winner and made money on his bets.
In 1894 Bat served as Charlie Mitchell's second in his bid to take the heavyweight crown away from Corbett. Corbett trounced Mitchell in three rounds and Bat lost so heavily that he had to return to Denver to take a series of jobs managing various gambling houses. In June 1895 he traveled to New York where he served briefly as bodyguard for George Gould, Jay Gould's son and heir. The job did not last long because the man who had threatened Gould was soon captured. Bat returned to Denver. In 1897, while serving as Deputy Sheriff of Arapaho County supervising a polling place, Bat was forced to fire his weapon to maintain order. It is believed to have been the last time that he fired a shot in anger. He continued to be involved in major prize fights for the rest of his career and went on to run his own fight club in Denver. Bat's Olympic Athletic Club vied with Otto Floto's Colorado Athletic Club for control of boxing in Denver, but Floto won out and Bat left Denver in disgust in 1900.
After returning to Denver briefly in 1902, Bat went on to New York where he eventually was hired as a reporter on the staff of the Morning Telegraph. He was well received by the subscribers and developed a name for himself, particularly for his coverage of sporting events. In 1904 President Theodore Roosevelt offered Bat the position of U.S. Marshall of the Oklahoma Territory. Bat was enjoying New York and liked his job at the Morning Telegraph. He turned down the president, but in 1905 accepted the position of Deputy U.S. Marshall for the Southern District of New York. Bat remained in that position until Roosevelt left office in 1909. In his later years Bat wrote a number of articles about famous westerners that he had known in a magazine called Human Life. In 1918 Bat met William S. Hart for the first time. Hart was one of the earliest cinematic western heros and he modeled much of his acting on Bat's exploits. The two men became good friends. Bat died of heart failure at his desk at the Morning Telegraph on October 25, 1921.
