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Sam Bass

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Outlaw

The Resume

    (July 21, 1851-July 21, 1878)
    Born in Mitchell, Indiana
    Full name was Samuel Bass
    Train robber and gang leader
    Gunned down by the Texas Rangers (July 19, 1878) and died two days later

Why he might be annoying:

    His wanted poster looked like a W.B. Mason print ad.
    When he and one of his cohorts, Joel Collins, took a small herd of longhorn cattle to sell for market for the livestock's owners, they got $8,000 - and then gambled it all away in Nebraska and South Dakota.
    He and Collins attempted, and failed, at several robberies in 1877.
    After their failures, they recruited several hard characters to rob stagecoaches and pulled off seven successful heists.
    He and his gang robbed a Union Pacific train near the town of Big Springs, Nebraska and raked in $65,000 in gold and valuables (September 18, 1877).
    They got into a shootout with Deputy Sheriff A. W. Grimes during an ambush in Round Rock, Texas, that resulted in Grimes being killed and another deputy being wounded (Bass, himself, was shot in the hand and went on the run). He was captured two days later and died in custody.
    His sister claimed that the photo in his wanted poster was of someone else, and since no photos were taken of him in custody or dead, it remains unclear as to whether any known photo of him actually exists and can be confirmed to be him.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was orphaned before he became a teenager and was raised by an uncle.
    He often worked odd jobs before turning to crime, and even tried his hand at horse racing and cattle ranching.
    He pulled off the largest train robbery ever committed in the United States.
    He was double-crossed by a former crony, Jim Murphy, who tipped off the Rangers and helped organize the Round Rock ambush.
    His career became the stuff of legend and was memorialized in the popular cowboy song, 'The Ballad of Sam Bass.'
    There are several streets throughout Texas named in his honor, and Rosston, Texas even celebrates 'Sam Bass Day' the third Saturday of July.
    He was portrayed by Alan Hale, Jr. on an episode of Colt 45 (so, Butch and Sundance got Paul Newman and Robert Redford and he gets The Skipper? Talk about rolling in his grave!).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying