"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." - Chicago Gangster Ted Newberry. Rubbed out January 7, 1933

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Wild wild west

You got your saloon.
You got your swinging doors
You got your six shooter.

But you ain’t got your cowboys. You got New York boys, literally.

On today’s date, a century plus two years ago, eighteen year old Billy Clayborn was standing at the bar of Cohen’s saloon at 103rd & Madison. He was chewing the rag with his pal Harry Weinreid when the swinging doors opened and a pistol popped into view.

A shot was fired and the mirror behind the bar shattered (shadooby). The second one hit Clayborn in the gut. The bartender ran to the doors but was unable to see the shooter. Weinreid hoisted his buddy up and took him to Harlem Hospital where he got all patched up and lived to gang bang another day.

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