You probably know the wild west part, some fact and some fiction, depending upon which movie you watch. 

William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (1853 –  1921) was a figure of the American "old west" known as a buffalo hunter, U.S. Marshal and Army scout, avid fisherman, gambler, frontier lawman, and sports editor and columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph.

He was the brother of lawmen James and Ed Masterson. Born at Henryville, Canada East, in what is Quebec today, and baptized as Bartholomew Masterson. He later used the name "William Barclay Masterson." His father, Thomas Masterson, was born in Canada of an Irish family; and his mother, Catherine McGurk or McGureth was born in Ireland. In his late teens, he and two of his four brothers, Ed and James, left their family's farm to become buffalo hunters. Bat Masterson lived in the American west during a violent and frequently lawless period. Indian-fighting aside, he used a firearm against a fellow man on just six occasions, far less than some.

In June 1874, he was in the Texas Panhandle and was one of the buffalo hunters who took part in the Battle of Adobe Walls, Texas, starting in June, Bat was one of twenty-eight men and one lone woman in the ill-protected settlement of Adobe Walls. They faced 800-1000 Native Americans, headed by Chief Quanah Parker, who led the Comanches; Lone Wolf, the Kiowas; Stone Calf and White Shield, the Cheyennes against the white hunters. By March 1875, Bat was back in Dodge City, where he was listed in the Kansas census as a "teamster." On March 1, 1885, he was listed in the Kansas census as a 30-year-old Dodge City farmer. (Omitted here – his wanderings, sheriffing, gambling, and marriage in Denver to a showgirl – go to the movies.) He kept diaries, wrote short stories and enjoyed writing and recording the events of the newly formed western life. Masterson left the West and went to New York City by 1902 and was almost immediately arrested for conducting a crooked faro game and carrying a concealed weapon. The crooked gaming charges were dismissed and he was fined $10 for carrying the gun.

Between 1902 and 1905 he was a frequent visitor to the White House. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Masterson to the position of deputy to U.S. Marshal for the southern district of New York. Roosevelt had met Masterson on several occasions and had become friendly with him. Masterson split his time between his writing and keeping the peace in the grand jury room whenever the U.S. Attorney in New York held session. He performed this service for about $2,000 per year from early 1908 until 1912. Bat Masterson worked as a sports writer and editor, and as a columnist. His career as a writer started around 1883 and ended upon his death in New York City in 1921.