Sam Bass was a notorious outlaw of the American Old West, best known for pulling off the first successful train robbery in Texas. Originally a gambler and horse racer, he turned to crime in the 1870s, forming a gang that specialized in robbing stagecoaches and trains. His most famous heist was the Union Pacific gold train robbery in Nebraska, netting $60,000—a fortune at the time.

Despite his growing legend, Sam Bass was relentlessly pursued by lawmen, and his run came to a bloody end in 1878, when he was gunned down by Texas Rangers in Round Rock, Texas…..with some ties to Amarillo along the way!

In Amarillo, the Ware family is known for banking. But in the 19th century, the Ware name was known for something else entirely. When Benjamin Taliaferro Ware came to Amarillo in the late 1880s to get involved in cattle and banking, his exploits paled in comparison with those of his brother, Dick, a Texas Ranger. Dick Ware was a Texas hero—the lawman who shot and killed the outlaw Sam Bass.

Fresh off a train hold-up in Nebraska, Bass and his gang arrived in Texas in 1878. Upon receiving a tip that they intended to rob a bank in Round Rock, the Texas Rangers dispatched Ware and a few others to the area. Ware arrived in town and settled into a barber chair to get a shave, placing his .45-caliber Colt six-shooter in his lap. Midway through the shave, he heard the sound of gunfire.

Down the street, Bass and his outlaws had reached Round Rock, and almost immediately gotten into a shootout at a feed store next to the bank. With shaving cream still covering half of his face, Dick Ware jumped out of the chair, bolted out the door, and saw the wanted men. He took down one of the robbers with his first shot. His second shot hit Bass in the stomach, taking the outlaw down. Sam Bass died two days later, complaining that a man with shaving cream on his face had been the one to kill him.

Ware was given Bass’s long-barreled Colt six-shooter. His heroism earned him a place in Texas history. He was later named sheriff of Mitchell County, and in 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed him U.S. Marshal for West Texas. For years, Dick Ware’s Colt and the six-shooter that had belonged to Sam Bass have resided on the 15th floor of Amarillo National Bank. As part of the bank’s 125th anniversary celebration, they are currently on display in the lobby of ANB’s downtown branch.

A folk hero to some, a dangerous outlaw to others—forever etched into the mythos of the Wild West.