In 1884, at the age of 19, Baca acquired some guns and became a deputy sheriff (whether through purchasing a badge or by being appointed is unclear) in Socorro County, New Mexico.

In October 1884, in the town of Middle San Francisco Plaza (now Reserve, New Mexico), Baca arrested a drunk cowboy named Charlie McCarty, flashing his badge at him and taking his gun.

However, none of the bullets struck Baca; the floor of the home is said to have been slightly lower than ground level, allowing him to escape injury.

In April 1915, Baca was charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly masterminding the November 1914 escape of Mexican general José Inés Salazar from the Albuquerque jail.

[10] Successfully defended by New Mexican lawyer and politician Octaviano Larrazolo, Baca's reputation grew among Southwestern residents.

Working at times as a private detective, Baca also took a job as a bouncer in a casino across the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Baca considered running for governor despite his declining health, but he failed to secure the Democratic Party's nomination for district attorney in 1944.

[11] One often-told story says that once when he was practicing law in Albuquerque, Baca received a telegram from a client in El Paso, Texas.

"[12] In the late 1950s, Walt Disney turned Baca into the first Hispanic popular culture hero in the United States, representing him in six comic books, a feature film, and related merchandising.

Disney deliberately avoided ethnic tension by presenting Baca as a generalized Western hero, portraying "a New Mexican Davy Crockett".

[14][15][16][17] Starting in October 1958, Walt Disney Studios released a 10-part television serial entitled The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca, starring Robert Loggia in the title role.

The film premiered in theaters in West Germany on May 20, 1966, and was later broadcast on American television with the title Elfego Baca: Attorney at Law.

Other popular culture depictions include Dynamite Entertainment's Lone Ranger and Green Hornet comic, where he cameos alongside other Western heroes including the Lone Ranger, Bat Masterson, Buffalo Bill, Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, Texas John Slaughter, and Black Bart.