Jim Courtright - Aftermath and Legacy

Aftermath and Legacy

Short was placed on trial for the shooting, but it was ruled justified self defense, and that was the end of it. The gunfight became the story of a famous showdown because of the notoriety of both men as gunmen. Unfortunately for Courtright, that fame was posthumous.

Despite Courtright's reputation for strong-arming local businesses with his protection service, he did reduce Fort Worth's murder rate by more than half the previous level during his time there as the marshal. He built a small force that included himself and two deputies which eventually grew into today's Fort Worth police force.

In 1955, the half-hour syndicated television series Stories of the Century, starring Jim Davis as railroad detective Matt Clark, aired the Jim Courtright story, with Robert Knapp in the title role and Wally Cassell as Luke Short.