On this date in 1879, John Henry Holliday, an 1872 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, became former Army scout Mike Gordon’s Huckleberry. Mr. Gordon, it seemed, started an altercation in Dr. Holliday’s saloon in Las Vegas, NM. Big mistake. The argument spilled out into the street, where Mr. Gordon drew his pistol–an even bigger mistake–and fired it at Dr. Holliday. In what was sure to be the biggest mistake of all, Mr. Gordon missed. Dr. Holliday responded by drawing his own pistol and shooting at Mr. Gordon. He didn’t miss. Mr. Gordon died. And Dr. Holliday discovered a new favorite game: Play for Blood.
Further reading:
Wikipedia: Doc Holliday
Legends of America: Doc Holliday – Deadly Doctor of the West
Nobody Move! 
John D.:
Doc Holliday is one of those people of the old west that always seems to be under-studied.
U of P was a very good school and to graduate (in 2 years) from there had to have been an honor.
And, where did “Doc” get his shooting skills?
When did he contract TB?
The WIKI helps somewhat in his later life.
Lots of questions that never seem to be answered in depth.
Very good post.
Stay safe.
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My brother had high praise for this documentary. I haven’t seen it yet, but I plan to in the near future.
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John:
Thanks for the heads-up in this. I’ll keep an eye open for it.
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i heard he was pretty handy with a knife, also.
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Hey, dude, long time no see. 😉
Legend has it that Doc stabbed a gambler named Ed Bailey after he caught Ed cheating. Bailey tried to pull a gun, but Doc beat him to the punch.
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yeah, been a while, shut my blog down and forgot to log into wordpress for a few months, but i’m back now!
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