A Cowboy By Any Other Name Nat Love won a skills contest and a new handle.

Cowboy Nat Love—born a slave in 1854—was already well-known in the Southwest as “Red River Dick” for his various exploits.  But in July 1876, he got a new nickname, one that would go down in history.

He and a cattle crew were in the Black Hills and entered a competition that included marksmanship and saddling a wild mustang.  Nat handily won all of the contests (and a grand prize of $200). When he rode back south, folks tagged him with the name of the town where he’d done so well:  Deadwood Dick.