Ernest Carleton Bass, best-known as Carleton Bass, born 1876 in Ireland, was a notorious
bullfighter
A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...
in the United States who billed himself in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the "first North American bullfighter." In reality, he was an Irish immigrant who never became an American citizen, and his anemic bullfighting skill led to him being booed from bullfighting rings in Mexico.
[Hail, Marshall. ]
Knight in the Sun: First Yankee Matador
'. Boston, Little Brown: 1962. pp. 5-6. Though he had learned some swordfighting and bullfighting skills in Spain before he emigrated to the United States, he was a poor fighter. In 1903, he suffered an attack of nerves before a fight in Mexico and failed to fight.
In 1904, he was a key figure in the
St. Louis bullfight riot, which led to the destruction of a 14,000-seat arena by fire. Three days after the riot, he shot and killed fellow matador
Manuel Cervera Prieto
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* Manuel (name), a given name and surname
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* Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...
after the other man attacked Bass with a knife over a dispute regarding the bullfight canceled by the riot. A subsequent coroner's inquest found Bass acted in self-defense and should not be charged with murder. Following his acquittal, Bass went on to star in several bloodless bullfights.
The New York Times. June 27, 1904. Retrieved Sept. 13, 2014. These involved enraging the bull, causing it to charge and miss, but not spearing it or cutting it with a sword.
References
1876 births
American bullfighters
Year of death missing
Irish expatriates in Spain
Irish emigrants to the United States
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