ask-the-marshallIf Johnny Ringo had participated in the famous O.K. Corral gunfight, what do you think the outcome would have been?

John Burton
Via the Internet

Author Steve Gatto, who wrote the biography Johnny Ringo, says that if Ringo had been present at the gunfight, it’s likely that one or more of the Earp party would have been killed or seriously wounded. He adds that it’s not because Ringo was the “fastest or deadliest man with a gun,” but because one more gun would have created more firepower for the Clanton-McLaury side.

“Due to the close proximity that shots were exchanged, it’s also likely that Ringo would have been killed or seriously wounded in the encounter,” Gatto adds.

***

Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian. His books include The Arizona Trilogy and Law of the Gun.

If you have a question, write:

Ask the Marshall,

PO Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327

or e-mail him at marshalltrimble@sccmail.maricopa.edu

Related Articles

  • Illustration by Bob Boze Bell

    On a blustery October day in 1881 Tombstone, the Earp brothers—Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan—joined Doc…

  • Johnny Ringo

    The legend of Johnny Ringo is just that. Ringo was born in Indiana, not Texas. …

  • gunfight-at-the-eco-corrla-robin-l-murray-pale-rider

    One of the most interesting books published today is this analysis of the environment in…