Bill Tilghman - the legendary lawman best known for hunting down bad guys in Indian Territory - got his start as a teenaged buffalo hunter on the Kansas frontier. After that he spent years patrolling the tough streets of Dodge City with the likes of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Charlie Bassett before moving on to Oklahoma where he did more of the same. Friends with guys like Luke Short and Doc Holliday. Rubbed shoulders with outlaws like Dave Rudabaugh and J.J. Webb, Tilghman wore many hats throughout his life.

Senator, husband, father, scout, Rancher, saloon owner, movie producer, actor, and then finally – at the ripe ole age of 70 – Tilghman pinned on a badge yet again to take on the corrupt boom town of Cromwell, Oklahoma.

Maybe. Or Maybe not.

Join me today as we find out more about the man who - according to Teddy Roosevelt - would charge hell with a bucket. The man who Bat Masterson once said was “the best of all of us” on this newest don’t kill the messenger history is complicated and sometimes our heroes are flawed and this is probably the last ever episode OF The Wild West Extravaganza!

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Texas History Lessons Podcast

Bat Masterson on Bill Tilghman

Was Bill Tilghman Honest? – True West Magazine

How Accurate Was You Know My Name? – True West Magazine

The Man Who Shot Bill Tilghman - True West Magazine

The Killing Of Bill Tilghman – True West Magazine

Dodge City – Book by Tom Clavin

Bill Tilghman's Biography – Written by his widow, Zoe Agnes Stratton Tilghman

The Trial of Wiley Lynn – Edmond Life & Leisure

Wiley Lynn's Last Days - Edmond Life & Leisure

Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws (1915)

Oklahoma Land Rush Scene – Far and Away (1992)

Great Murder Trials of the Old West – Johnny D. Boggs

Shoot From The Lips – Nancy B. Samuelson

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