Vaudeville Theater Ambush

Vaudeville Theater ambush

Jack Harris Vaudeville Theater
Date	March 11, 1884
Location	San Antonio, Texas, United States
Participants	Ben Thompson and King Fisher vs. Joe Foster and Jacob Coy
Outcome	Ben Thompson and Joe Foster killed outright; King Fisher wounded and died; Jacob Coy crippled for life.
Deaths	3

The Vaudeville Theater ambush was the ambush and murder on March 11, 1884 by Joe Foster and Jacob Coy of former lawmen Ben Thompson and King Fisher. It took place at the Jack Harris Vaudeville Saloon and Theater in San Antonio, Texas. The ambush was in revenge for Ben Thompson's shooting of Jack Harris two years earlier.

King Fisher and Ben Thompson were both noted gunmen of the Old West. Thompson had killed several men by 1884, including the 1882 death of popular theater owner Jack Harris in San Antonio. That shooting had been ruled self defense. Thompson had been appointed Chief of Police for the city of Austin, Texas, a job in which he had been extremely successful, and for which he was extremely popular in Austin. Thompson had only recently left that job, resigning after being cleared on the Harris shooting. King Fisher, a noted gunman in his own right with several killings to his credit also, was a good friend to Thompson, and by 1884 Fisher had settled into a more peaceful life with his family near Leakey, Texas, where he had become a successful rancher. Fisher had recently left the office of sheriff for Uvalde County, Texas, and on March 11, 1884, was in San Antonio on business.

Theater owner Jack Harris had been the leader of San Antonio's "sporting crowd". Originally from Ireland, Harris emigrated to Connecticut, then moved from there to Texas. He had previously worked for the San Antonio Police Department, and had served during the Civil War in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, Harris may have served Emperor Maximilian during the Franco-Mexican War, but although it has been claimed, that was never confirmed. In 1868 Harris rejoined the police force, and bought a small saloon with a partner, selling his portion in 1872. With his profits he opened his own saloon, first calling it the Jack Harris Bar and Billiard Room, but then changing the name to the Vaudeville Variety Theater. It quickly became the most popular place in San Antonio.