Tom O'Day

Looking at photographs of Tom O’Day, one starts to notice an uncanny resemblance to Yosemite Sam.

Other than his lack of anything even remotely resembling good luck, there’s not a lot of information out there regarding O’Day. For now this page will document what is available and, hopefully, update as details become available.

Tom O’Day was with the Wild Bunch during the Butte County Bank robbery in Belle Fourche, South Dakota on June 28, 1897. Sent to town in advance of his compatriots, O’Day took the opportunity to get drunk while waiting for his friends. Then, as now, it was generally not considered to be a good idea to get tanked before taking part in a robbery.

The aftermath of the robbery saw Tom's horse frightened off by the gunshots leaving O'Day with no means of escape. Scrambling to find a suitable means of transportation, O’Day tried to steal a mule, but the burro was stubborn and wouldn’t move. Giving up on the mule, O’Day ran to the nearest saloon hoping to lose himself in the crowd. When that didn't work, he locked himself in an outhouse where he was later discovered by authorities. To add insult to already multiple injuries, O’Day was locked up in the vault of the Butte County Bank for the night before being transported to Deadwood.

In Deadwood, O’Day was eventually reunited with his partners, the Sundance Kid, Walt Punteney and Harvey Logan. Along with another inmate, the outlaws broke free of the Deadwood jail on Halloween night. After splitting up with Sundance and Logan, O’Day and Punteney were captured near Spearfish, South Dakota two days after their escape on November 2, 1897.

Fate finally shined on O’Day when at trial he was found innocent of all charges and set free.

On November 23, 1903, O’Day found himself on the wrong side of the law again when he was arrested with a herd of stolen horses near Casper, Wyoming. This time he was tried and found guilty for his crimes.

In A Pictorial History of the Wild West, James Horan relates the sentencing judge’s words of advice to O’Day. “In the early days of Wyoming it was the custom to rustle stock, and if a list could be compiled of all the men who had gotten a start in life by this method, it would make a large catalog. But those days are past, and Tom, you ought to have quit when the rest of the boys did. If I were to sentence you for all the crimes you have committed, you would be in here for the rest of your life, but your sentence today shall be only for the crimes you have committed this time. After you serve it, try to live an honest life. You will find it pays.”

Tom O'Day was released from prison on June 1, 1908. After his prison stay O'Day is said to have settled down, gotten married and lived a relatively quiet life. While an exact date of death is unknown, it is believed that O'Day died in South Dakota sometime in 1930.

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