Is Kramer Hickok related to Wild Bill?

Are Kramer Hickok and Wild Bill related?

Introduction

Nowadays, when people think of golf, they generally don’t think of the Wild West.

Golf is a civilized sport and is generally not associated with drunkards, gun fights, saloons, horses, ranches, lawmen, outlaws, cowboys, and any other tireless cliches we so fondly associated with the Wild West.

Despite this, however, there is a link, or a potential link, thanks to PGA Tour pro golfer Kramer Hickok.

Are we suggesting that Kramer Hickok, when he isn’t nailing birdies and pars on the golf course, spends his time as an outlaw on horseback, cruising through saloons and towns with a six-shooter in one hand and a bottle of whisky in the other?

Of course not, but there is a potential link, thanks to his last name.

When people talk about the Wild West or the American Old West, there is one name that instantly springs to mind, and that name is Wild Bill Hickok.

So, is Kramer Hickok related to Wild Bill?

Let’s dig deeper.

Who is Kramer Hickok?

Before we can delve deeper and look at whether or not Kramer Hickok is a long-lost descendant of Wild Bill Hickok, let’s learn more about this golfing ace, shall we?

Kramer Hickok is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.

Before he joined the PGA Tour, he would play on the PGA Tour Canada and the Web.com Tour.

So talented is he, that he was the PGA Tour Canada’s number one Player of the Year in 2017.

Born April 14, 1992, in Texas, Kramer Austin Hickok was a freshman at the University of Texas the same year as fellow PGA Tour pro golfer Jordan Spieth. The two were roommates, and Kramer would go to caddy for Jordan at the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2011.

Kramer proved to be a very capable golfer from a young age, and in 2015, he would turn pro.

While some pros enter their first contests/tournaments and immediately make an impact, for Kramer, things didn’t run as smoothly.

He entered the Panama Championship for his very first tournament, where he would tie for 64^th place overall.

Not happy with the placing, he went back to the drawing board and began working on every aspect of his golf game. He would spend hours driving, chipping, pitching, and putting, and in 2017 he joined the PGA Tour Canada.

The 2017 season was much better for him as he won twice and was voted Player of the Year. As well as winning the Player’s Cup and the Ontario Championship, he would also win the Order of Merit for that same season.

In 2018 he would play on the Web.com Tour, finishing inside the top 25 and earned his place on the PGA Tour card in 2018 – 2019.

He is now considered one of the most exciting young golfers on the PGA Tour and is certainly a name to keep an eye on for the future.

But with a last name like Hickok, is Kramer Hickok related to Wild Bill?

Who was Wild Bill Hickok?

Those familiar with the American Old West, and even those who aren’t, will likely have heard the name ‘Wild Bill Hickok.’

Wild Bill Hickok was an American folk hero, renowned for his time on the frontier as a lawman, soldier, entertainer, actor, scout, and gambler.

Hickok was said to be a feared gunfighter, though many believe that he would often exaggerate the truth and would even fabricate the truth to shine himself in an even brighter light.

Hickok was outlandish and a showman at heart. He knew how to spin a tale, and many historians are now all but certain that some of the tall tales we’ve heard about him over the years were simply made up.

Either way, the legend of Wild Bill Hickok makes for some very compelling listening/reading.

Born May 27, 1837, in Northern Illinois, he rose to notoriety in a time when lawlessness was rife in the Old West.

This was thanks in part to the ‘Banditti of the Prairie’ – a group of outlaw gangs known for their violent criminal activity.

During the American Civil War, Bill fought for the Union Army and proved to be a capable soldier and marksman.

After the war, he was involved in a number of high-profile shootouts, including the ‘McCanles Shooting’ and the ‘Duel with Davis Tutt.’

Sadly for Wild Bill, gambling proved to be his downfall as, during a game of poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (Now South Dakota), he was shot and killed by an incompetent gambler by the name of Jack McCall.

Interestingly, the hand of cards he was said to be holding was two pairs: Black aces and eights. This hand is now known as the ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ in poker.

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Is Kramer Hickok related to Wild Bill?

So, we know about the present-day PGA golfer, and we know about the notorious folk here of the Wild West, but are they related?

Because of Kramer Hickok’s last name, many people have speculated that Kramer may be a descendant of the gunfighter himself, Wild Bill Hickok.

Well, while it would make for some extremely interesting stories, and would be a great claim to fame, there is sadly no evidence to suggest that Kramer Hickok is, in fact, related to Wild Bill Hickok.

The most likely reason why people have jumped to this assumption is that, because of the unique last name, some people have done what Wild Bill was said to have done in his day, and have been very liberal with the truth.

Wild Bill, for example, was known for his tall tales, and while he claimed to have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of gunmen during his lifetime. His biographer claims that Wild Bill killed just 6 or 7 men.

So, it’s likely that people, after a few too many whiskies, began sharing stories around a campfire one night, and started the rumor that Kramer Hickok is related to Wild Bill.

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