The Story of the OK Corral, 145 Years Ago
The shootout at the OK Corral took place 145 years ago on October 26, when two groups of gunmen squared off on the American frontier. The groups included local officials and a crew called the Outlaw Cowboy Gang.
Bill O’Reilly recounted the story behind the O.K. Corral shootout in a brief weekday noon segment on WABC Radio.
After silver was discovered in the foothills of Arizona, the town of Tombstone grew into one of the busiest and most dangerous cities in the Southwest.
Wyatt Earp, a lawman from Kansas, and his brothers Morgan and Virgil patrolled the streets of Tombstone. As deputies, the Clanton and McClary brothers were bandits who lived on ranches outside of town.
Public domain
On October 26, the outfit was found drunk in an abandoned lot behind the old Kindersley horse stable, better known as the OK Corral; the Earps and their friend Doc Holliday confronted the drunken gang. At least 30 shots rang out.
Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton (left to right) lie dead after the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. This is the only known photo of 19-year-old Billy.
Unknown author
Public domain
To this day, no one knows who started the fracas. After the smoke cleared, three outlaws were dead. The 1993 film Tombstone, starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, portrayed the legendary shootout.
In Bill’s opinion, it was Val Kilmer’s best performance.
And here’s something else you might not know:
After the scuffle in Tombstone, the local sheriff, a corrupt guy, charged Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday with murder. A month later, an Arizona judge found the men not guilty; the judge ruled that they were “fully justified in committing these homicides at the OK Corral.”
To digress for a moment, the corrupt sheriff who charged them was Johnny Behan. He was a miner, lawman, representative to the Arizona Territorial Legislature, livery stable owner, and Superintendent of the Yuma Territorial Prison in the American Old West. He was the lover of Josephine Sadie Marcus when he was Cochise County Sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, during the events leading up to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Marcus became Wyatt Earp’s common-law wife, and later, one of his wives.
Here is something else you might not know.
William “Billy” Claiborne was one of five outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, but he didn’t stay for the fight. Claiborne didn’t have his gun, so he fled. He didn’t survive for long. The next year, he was drunk when he got into a gunfight with Buckskin Frank Leslie.
Check out This Week in History to learn what else happened the week of October 26.
