John McCall () (1852/1853 – March 1, 1877), also known as "Crooked Nose" or "Broken Nose Jack", was the murderer of Old West legend Wild Bill Hickok. McCall shot Hickok from behind as he played poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, on August 2, 1876. McCall was executed for the murder on March 1, 1877.
Early life
Many details of McCall's life are unknown. He was most likely born in the early 1850s in Jefferson County, Kentucky. McCall was raised in Kentucky with three sisters and eventually drifted west to become a buffalo hunter. By 1876, he was living in a gold mining camp outside Deadwood, under the alias "Bill Sutherland".
First trial
An impromptu court was called to order with the prosecution, defense, and jury made up of local miners and businessmen. Contemporary newspaper accounts reported that Joseph Miller, a local attorney identified as "Judge Miller," was appointed by the court to defend McCall during the proceedings. On trial the next day in McDaniel's Theater, McCall claimed his actions were in retribution for Hickok having previously killed his brother in Abilene, Kansas. McCall was found not guilty after two hours. The verdict brought the Black Hills Pioneer to editorialize: "Should it ever be our misfortune to kill a man... we would simply ask that our trial may take place in some of the mining camps of these hills." a cemetery which was moved in 1881. When McCall's body was exhumed, it was found to have the noose still around his neck.
The killing of Hickok and the capture of McCall is reenacted every summer evening (except Sundays) at the Masonic Temple in Deadwood.
Portrayals
McCall has been played by:
- Porter Hall in the film The Plainsman (1936)
- Lon Chaney Jr. in the film Badlands of Dakota (1941)
- George Montgomery in the film Jack McCall, Desperado (1953)
- David Arquette in the film Wild Bill (1995)
- John Pyper-Ferguson in the 1995 television series Legend
- Garret Dillahunt in the 2004 HBO television series Deadwood
See also
- Capital punishment in South Dakota
- Capital punishment in the United States
- List of people executed in South Dakota