When the average person thinks of Bat Masterson, the image of Wild West gunslinger, gambler, and lawman first comes to mind. For Boomers in particular, the image is of a dapper derby-sporting cane-wielding dandy portrayed by actor Gene Barry in the early sixties “Bat Masterson” television series.
The Legend
Unlike most legends of the old west, Bat Masterson went on to an unlikely second act; in his case, as a New York City newspaper sportswriter.
When he arrived in Manhattan in the early 1900s, he looked the exact opposite of the dapper television western lawman legend. He was hard-bitten, well into middle age, and paunchy --- but, he was also a damn good writer.
The New York Morning Telegraph
Thanks to his acquaintanceship with two newsman brothers, Alfred Henry and William Eugene Lewis, they hired him to write a series of reminiscences about his Wild West adventures. In 1904, these articles led to a regular sports column, “Masterson’s Views on Timely Topics” at The New York Morning Telegraph. A lifelong gambler, Masterson’s reporting turf was the racetrack and the boxing ring.
Damon Runyon
Eventually, he met fellow newspaper sportswriter Damon Runyon, and they became fast friends. In fact, Bat Masterson was Runyon’s inspiration for his Sky Masterson character in “Guys and Dolls.”
Once, when asked about his friend, Runyon said, “Bat had no literary style but he had plenty of moxie.”
The World of Boxing
During his 20-year newspaper writing career, Masterson had been in the middle of several controversial incidents, including two high profile lawsuits. One was a defamation of character lawsuit against a boxing promoter whom he had accused of being crooked because he “owned” both fighters in a Madison Square Garden heavyweight contender bout. The promoter retaliated with an open letter to Masterson in a competitor newspaper. The letter stated that the former lawman had “made his reputation by shooting drunken Mexicans and Indians in the back.” Masterson responded with a defamation of character lawsuit. Despite the fact that his opponent in court was attorney Benjamin Cardozo, who would go on to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Masterson won the lawsuit in court and at appeal.
Trouble with the law
Another incident occurred when Masterson was arrested in 1904 for allegedly swindling a wealthy tourist from Utah out of $16,000 (then a fortune) in a rigged game of faro. When the judge dismissed the charges against Masterson, he turned around and sued the tourist for defamation of character. They settled out of court.
Brawling on Broadway
In 1906, two Masterson acquaintances from his Wild West days showed up in Manhattan, and made it their business to go from bar to bar on Broadway, denigrating Bat Masterson’s lawman reputation. This led to a confrontation between the three men in, of all places, the café at the venerable Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. In front of a shocked crowd, Masterson remained true to form and knocked both men down with his cane.
In 1921, Bat Masterson died of a coronary at his writing desk after completing his final New York Morning Telegraph article.
Sources:
“Benjamin Cardozo meets Bat Masterson”, William Manz, [August, 2004, Skyways]
“Bat Masterson”, R.K. DeArment, [June 2001, Wild West]
Elliot Feldman - Elliot is a veteran television writer (Match Game, Hollywood Squares, and Nickelodeon's Double Dare) and online game writer (Jeopardy ...
