Buffalo Bill Cody

“The showman who sold the West to the world, one goatee at a time.”

94STACH SCORE

✂ Imperial Historical Figure Era: 1880s Born 1846 🏆 HOF Inductee

Is this a Legendary Stach?

Stach Stats

Stash Power93

Ruggedness92

Curl Factor35

Legend Status94

Stats are for entertainment purposes. The mustache committee's decisions are final and occasionally arbitrary.

Style: Imperial
Peak Era: 1880s
Born: 1846
Hall of Fame: Inducted 2024
Fan Votes: 0 legendary · 0 meh

The Story

About Buffalo Bill Cody

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846–1917) was born in the Iowa Territory and rode for the Pony Express as a teenager, served as a Union scout in the Civil War, and earned his nickname hunting bison to feed railroad crews. He later worked as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army and received the Medal of Honor in 1872.

Dime novels made him famous, and in 1883 he launched "Buffalo Bill\'s Wild West," a touring spectacle featuring sharpshooter Annie Oakley, Sitting Bull, trick riders, and staged stagecoach attacks. The show toured Europe, performed for Queen Victoria, and shaped how the world imagined the American frontier.

Cody founded the town of Cody, Wyoming, and died in Denver in 1917. He is buried on Lookout Mountain outside Golden, Colorado.

The Verdict

Why the Stach Became Iconic

Long flowing hair, a sweeping mustache, and a pointed goatee beneath a wide-brimmed hat: the Buffalo Bill look is the original Western showman\'s costume, copied by everyone from circus ringmasters to Colonel Sanders. He understood that in show business, the mustache is half the act.

On the Record

Notable Moments

Pony Express rider (1860–1861)
U.S. Army scout; Medal of Honor (1872)
Buffalo Bill's Wild West touring show (1883–1913)
Performed for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee (1887)
Founded Cody, Wyoming (1896)

Fun Facts

Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull both toured with his Wild West show.
His Medal of Honor was revoked in 1917 because he was a civilian and restored in 1989.
He was an early advocate for women's suffrage and for fair treatment of Native Americans in his later years.