Wild Bill Hickok

James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. He gained fame as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor, and his life became the stuff of legend through exaggerated tales in his own time. He is especially remembered in poker history for being shot dead while playing five-card stud in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, holding the hand that became known as the "dead man's hand" – two pair: black aces and black eights.

Hickok was born on May 27, 1837, in Homer, Illinois (present-day Troy Grove), the fourth of six children of William Alonzo Hickok, a farmer and abolitionist, and his wife Pamelia. His father used the family home as a station on the Underground Railroad. Hickok was a skilled marksman from a young age and had red hair, despite appearing dark-haired in photographs. In 1855, at age 18, he fled Illinois after a fight with Charles Hudson and moved to Kansas Territory, where he joined the anti-slavery Jayhawkers.

Hickok served as a lawman in Kansas frontier towns such as Hays City and Abilene, known for his strict enforcement of order. He also served as a Union Army scout and spy during the Civil War, earning the nickname "Wild Bill" after an incident in which he saved a barman during a saloon brawl and a woman shouted, "It's Wild Bill." His reputation as a gunfighter grew from several notable shootouts, including the 1861 killing of David McCanles at Rock Creek Station. General George Armstrong Custer called him one of the finest human specimens he had ever seen. Hickok claimed to have killed numerous men, though biographer Joseph G. Rosa estimates he killed six or seven between 1861 and 1871.

Hickok was a passionate professional gambler, primarily playing five-card stud, the dominant poker variant of the 19th century. He lived off his poker winnings and became one of the first professional poker players. In 1876, he married Agnes Thatcher Lake and then traveled to Deadwood, Dakota Territory, seeking fortune in the gold rush. On August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttall & Mann's Saloon (often misidentified as the No. 10 Saloon), he was shot from behind by Jack McCall, an unsuccessful gambler. Hickok held what is now famously called the "dead man's hand": two pairs of black aces and black eights, with an unknown fifth card.

Hickok died instantly at age 39. He is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood. His legend only grew after his death, and he has been depicted in countless books, films, and television shows. In 1979, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as one of its earliest members, honored for his role as a pioneer of professional poker and a symbol of the Wild West spirit. His story continues to remind poker players of the importance of security at the table, as his failure to sit with his back to the wall led to his murder.