Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Wyatt Earp, Cowboy Renaissance Man
Today's Wacky Whiskers Wednesday is brought to you by: Ice Cream and the Letter E:
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 - January 13, 1929) is best known for the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and as the referee to the Fitzsimmons vs. Sharkey Heavyweight Championship boxing match. His Wikipedia page literally lists his occupations as “Gambler, lawman, buffalo hunter, saloon keeper, bouncer, gold and copper miner, pimp, boxing referee.” We would also like to add badass, style icon, and grade A fox to this list.
Wyatt Earp at age 21 in 1869 or 1870. Probably taken in Lamar, Missouri.
Earp lived a restless life, traveling across the American West from boomtown to boomtown and associating himself with cowboys, lawyers, lawmen, gamblers and prostitutes. One of his most famous companions was undoubtedly John Henry “Doc” Holiday: professional gambler, gunfighter, dentist and Deputy U.S. Marshal at the O.K. Corral Gunfight.
After a fictionalized biography was published following Earp’s death in 1931, his reputation as a fearless lawman became forever imprinted upon American culture. The Archive Gals are all about the fun facts so here are some cool things you may not know about Wyatt Earp:
-Earp ran away from home several times to try and enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War. Being just 13 years old, he was too young to enlist; plus his dad always found him and dragged his butt back home!
Wyatt Earp about age 42.
-Earp, like the Archive Gals, loved him some ice cream. Allegedly, instead of alcohol, which he claimed to have never consumed, Earp liked to hit up the ice cream parlor every day!
-Earp was never once hit in a gunfight…well by anyone else at least. Apparently he once accidentally shot himself while sitting in a chair, but the bullet went through his coat, leaving him uninjured.
-Earp’s horse was named Dick Naylor.
-Earp was pals with John Wayne! In his later years, he was an adviser on several silent cowboy films in LA where he befriended a young Wayne. Wayne later claimed his portrayals of cowboys were based on his conversations with Earp.
Wyatt Earp at home on August 9, 1923, at age 75. Picture by John H. Flood Jr.