James Butler Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Illinois, on May 27, 1837, and was shot dead in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, on August 2, 1876. Famous for his lethal gun skills, as well as his professional gambling, he was a U.S. town marshal who unsuccessfully tried show business for a while after he got fired from his marshal job for shooting more than just bad guys.

On August 2, 1876, Wild Bill entered a poker game in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory and for the first time sat with his back to an open door. Jack McCall put a bullet through the back of Wild Bill's head at 4:10 p.m. His card hand held an ace of spades, ace of clubs, two black eights - clubs and spades - and the jack of diamonds. This became known as aces and eights - the dead man's hand.

McCall was found not guilty in 1876 at an illegal trial. Deadwood was an outlaw town and any "acts of justice" were not recognized. Retried in Yankton, Dakota Territory, he was found guilty. Wild Bill's older brother, Lorenzo, was in attendance at the trial. McCall's death was by hanging on March 1, 1877.