Santa Claus Bank Robbery

The Santa Claus Bank Robbery occurred on December 23, 1927, in the Central Texas town of Cisco. Marshall Ratliff, dressed as Santa Claus, along with Henry Helms and Robert Hill, all ex-cons, and Louis Davis, a relative of Helms, held up the First National Bank in Cisco. The robbery is one of Texas' most infamous crimes, having invoked the largest manhunt ever seen in the state.Eyewitness Boyce House wrote that this was "the most spectacular crime in the history of the Southwest ... surpassing any in which Billy the Kid or the James boys had ever figured."

Marshall Ratliff was an ex-con who had lived in Cisco before being tracked down and imprisoned for a bank robbery in Valera, Texas by Cisco Chief of Police, G.E. "Bit" Bedford. Though Ratliff was given a long prison sentence, he had been paroled just before the infamous bank robbery. He initially planned to rob the Cisco bank with his brother, Lee, but Lee had been arrested again. Ratliff pulled in Helms and Hill, whom he knew from Huntsville, and a fourth man who was good with safes.

As they planned the crime in Wichita Falls, the safe-cracker came down with the flu, and the trio pulled in Davis, a relative of Helms and a family man in need, promising a large return for his participation. During this period in Texas, three or four banks were being robbed every day, and in response, the Texas Bankers Association had offered a $5,000 reward to anyone shooting a bank robber during the crime. In addition, Ratliff knew that he would be immediately recognized if he returned to Cisco. This made the heist a particularly dangerous undertaking for the four men, so Ratliff decided to conceal his identity by disguising himself as Santa Claus. Such a disguise would also allay any suspicions by people in the bank. Stealing a car in Wichita Falls, they headed for Cisco and arrived on the morning of December 23.

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