Gunfight at the O.K. Corral After Wyatt Earp first arrived in Tombstone, his business efforts yielded little profit, and he took a job as a stagecoach shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo, guarding shipments of silver bullion. On July 28, 1880 Wyatt was appointed Pima County Deputy Sheriff. He held this position for only three months until after the election of November 9, 1880, when he resigned. When Virgil was maimed by an assassination attempt, Wyatt was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal in his place. He held that position until he left Cochise County in April 1882. Wyatt Earp was an imposing, handsome man: blond, tall, weighing
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral later, Virgil ran for the office on November 12, 1880 but lost to Ben Sippy. However, on June 6, 1881, Sippy asked for a two-week leave of absence. The city soon discovered $3,000 in financial improprieties in Sippy's records. A few days later Virgil was appointed as town marshal in his place. At the time of the gunfight, Virgil was both Deputy U.S. Marshal and town marshal. The city suspended him as town marshal after Ike Clanton filed murder charges, and after he was wounded in an assassination attempt on December 29, 1881, Wyatt replaced him as Deputy U.S. Marshal.