Today in History, July 19: 1879 – “I’m your Huckleberry..” John Henry “Doc” Holliday kills his first man. Holliday was a former dentist, a gambler, a heavy drinker, and was slowly dying of Tuberculosis. He was co-owner of a saloon in Las Vegas, New Mexico when a former army scout tried talking one of the “girls” working in the saloon into running off with him. When he was rebuffed, he became angry and began firing into the saloon from the street. Doc calmly stood, walked out onto the porch, and shot Mike Gordon down with one shot before Gordon could get off a second shot. While Doc was involved in many gunfights, including the OK Corral, he only killed two men. An aside—was not a big fan of Val Kilmer, until Tombstone.
By the way. “I’m your Huckleberry” simply means, I’m your man; I’m the right person for the job. I’m willing, let’s go.
Mark Loves History! 