Mike O'Rourke
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Mike O'Rourke (1862-1882), aka "Johnny O'Rourke" or "Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce," was a professional gambler of the Old West, whose notoriety is mainly due to Old West lawman and legend Wyatt Earp's having saved his life, saving him from being lynched in Tombstone, Arizona in 1881.
O'Rourke was born Michael O'Rourke, and is believed to have been born and raised in Arizona. He first surfaced in Tucson, Arizona, at age 16, where he developed into a talented poker player. He was often accused of cheating, but more often than not his accusers recanted their claims due to his having a reputation as being good with a gun and fast on the draw. There is evidence that O'Rourke had a fast temper and was prone to altercations, but none to support his having been in any gunfights.
He eventually made his way down to the new boomtown of Tombstone. In 1881, he was caught by a miner stealing the miners backpack. O'Rourke promptly shot and killed the man. He was arrested and sent to the Tombstone jail to await trial. A mob gathered, consisting of many friends to the murdered miner, intent on lynching O'Rourke. Wyatt Earp, who was then working as a lawman in Tombstone, held the mob off and backed them down, convincing them to disperse. O'Rourke was then moved to a jail in Tucson, but he escaped shortly thereafter and never stood trial for the miner's murder. In 1882, while gambling in Sulphur Springs Valley, he was again accused of cheating. The argument that followed resulted in O'Rourke leaving, only to be killed in a gunfight shortly afterward, which no one actually witnessed, it taking place outside. The shooter was believed by many to have been Pony Diehl, a former friend to gunman Johnny Ringo, whose mysterious death O'Rourke was rumored to have played a part. Pony Deal was in town at the time, and was known to believe that O'Rourke was responsible for Ringo's death. However, there is no evidence that his alleged and unproven involvement in that had anything to do with his own death.
O'Rourke was referenced in the movie, Wyatt Earp, starring Kevin Costner. In the film, O'Rourke is called Tommy "Behind the Deuce" O'Rourke, and is played by actor John Doe. In Wyatt Earp, the events surrounding O'Rourke being saved by Wyatt are recounted, when one of O'Rourke's nephews recognizes Earp and his wife Josie aboard a ship off the coast of Alaska, when Wyatt is an old man. O'Rourke's nephew tells the Earps that his uncle was killed in Omaha in '87.
