I definitely remember Hugh O'Brian in the episode. Wyatt Earp challenges the gang leader to a boxing match. The ring with the fight, Earp against the ropes and taking a beating and doing the same to the bad guy are also clearly recalled by me. I know I saw it in the summer of 1960 on a weekend afternoon. So, it must have been a rerun. Which year it was from, I can't say for sure.
I only think it most likely was from the season that had just ended.
I'm not surprised that Bat Masterson had an episode like this one. The writers of Western television shows probably would get tired of shoot-'em-ups and the heroes would resort to bare-fisted boxing matches. They didn't always win. There was a western that lasted only one season, 1958-1959, called Jefferson Drum. In it, the star, Jeff Richards, has a fight with a troublemaker who has ridden into town. It's a bareknuckled boxing match in a saloon. After taking a pounding, the good guy starts winning. But the villain throws something into his eyes, and beats him. In the end, the troublemaker is driven out of town by the hero.
The title of the episode is Pete Henke, the name of the bad guy. Years later, I learned from IMDb that he was played by Strother Martin. He was
a supporting actor who was most famous for the line "What we have here is a failure to communicate" in the Paul Newman film, Cool Hand Luke. That was in 1967, after he had gained a lot of weight.
As for the Jefferson Drum episode that I just described, I would like very much to see it again. Concerning Wyatt Earp, I would also like to see that show with Earp in the fistfight in the ring. But if anyone has the entire series, or that season, probably only one show isn't for sale.
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