Wyatt Earp’s Embarrassing Moment

Wyatt Earps Embarrassing Moment

It was a moment Wyatt Earp wanted to forget. He was lounging in a Wichita saloon on January 9, 1876.  His pistol slipped out of the holster, hit the floor and went off.  Nobody was hurt, but Earp—on the police force was a bit embarrassed. It made the papers that week.

Earp later confirmed the incident to his biographer Stuart Lake—but asked the writer to keep it out of print. Lake complied. Instead, he quoted Earp as saying professionals would never carry a live round under the hammer of a single-action revolver.