John "'Crooked Nose Jack' or 'Broken Nose Jack'" McCall (born in 1852 or 1853 in Jefferson County, Kentucky – died March 1, 1877 in Yankton, Dakota Territory), killed James "Wild Bill" Hickok, shooting him from behind, an act that among admirers of Hickok and students of Hickok's history has given rise to the phrase "the coward Jack McCall."
Many of the details of McCall's life are lost. He was raised in Kentucky with three sisters but drifted we...
more
John "'Crooked Nose Jack' or 'Broken Nose Jack'" McCall (born in 1852 or 1853 in Jefferson County, Kentucky – died March 1, 1877 in Yankton, Dakota Territory), killed James "Wild Bill" Hickok, shooting him from behind, an act that among admirers of Hickok and students of Hickok's history has given rise to the phrase "the coward Jack McCall."
Many of the details of McCall's life are lost. He was raised in Kentucky with three sisters but drifted west and became a buffalo hunter. By 1876, he was living in a gold mining camp called Deadwood, South Dakota, under the alias of Bill Sutherland.
On August 2, 1876, in the Nuttal & Mann's #10 Saloon in Deadwood, McCall shot Hickok in the back of the head with a single-action .45-caliber revolver, shouting "Take that!" Hickok, in contrast to his normal habit of sitting in a corner to protect his back, on that day sat with his back to the door while engaged in a game of poker. The killing was rumored to have been over McCall's drunken resentment...
less
