The first incident occurred in November 1877, when he was shot in the breast by Bob Shaw in the Lone Star Dance Hall.

Bat Masterson, who was nearby, responded, ran across the street, and shot at both Wagner, and his boss Alf Walker, who was holding a gun.

Walker, hit in the lung and twice in the arm, was thought likely to die but was taken back to Texas and subsequently recovered to take the trail to Kansas again.

Actually it was the close range muzzle blast from Wagner's gun which had set Ed Masterson's clothes smoldering.

Local papers[2] reported that Ed, after being shot, staggered across the Santa Fe tracks to the north side and into Hoover's Saloon.

This is supported by accounts by another Masterson brother, Tom, and Alf Walker's family always believed that Bat had shot him.

On April 2, 1957, the western actor Brad Johnson played Ed Masterson in the episode "The Nice Ones Always Die First" of the ABC television series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, a Desilu Production starring Hugh O'Brian in the title role.