Masterson, Bat (1853-1921), was a famous frontiersman and peace officer in the American West. As a young man, he became known as a brave buffalo hunter and Indian fighter. As a lawman, he was viewed as a cold-blooded gunfighter, but that reputation was untrue.
Masterson began his career as a peace officer in 1876, when he became a deputy marshal in Dodge City, Kansas, county seat of Ford County. From 1878 to 1880, he was sheriff of Ford County. In 1881, he helped his friend Wyatt Earp, a deputy United States marshal in Tombstone, Arizona, enforce the law there. Masterson served as city marshal of Trinidad, Colorado, in 1882. At times, he earned his living as a gambler. Masterson managed a gambling house in Creede, Colorado, in 1892.
Bartholomew Masterson was born on Nov. 20, 1853, in Henryville, Quebec. He later called himself William Barclay Masterson. In 1902, he moved to New York City, where he became a sportswriter for the New York Morning Telegraph and an authority on boxing. He died on Oct. 25, 1921.
