Wyatt Earp was a lawyer.
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp ( March 19 , 1848 -- January 13 , 1929 ) was an American Old West gambler , a deputy sheriff in Pima County , and deputy town marshal in Tombstone , Arizona Territory , who took part in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral , during which lawmen killed three outlaw cowboys . In April 1876 he was dismissed from his position as a lawman following an altercation with a political opponent of his boss which led to him being fined $ 30 . He was known as a Western lawman , gunfighter , and boxing referee . It became a bestseller and created his reputation as a fearless lawman .