A Colt Model 1908 Pocket Model Semi Auto Pistol taken from the Bonnie and Clyde ambush car by Louisiana Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton.
This is a type II Colt Model 1908, serial number 81958, cal. .380 A.C.P. with a 3 ¾” barrel, factory nickel finish and non-factory mother-of-pearl grips. This Colt was made in 1924 and retains about 98% nickel finish with many hairline scratches and excellent factory markings. The mother-of-pearl grips show great color with a large chip missing on the right side at the screw escutcheon. The original factory magazine is nickel finished and is properly marked “CAL.380/COLT.” The mechanism functions well and the barrel has a very good bore. According to the included copy of a Colt factory letter stating this gun was shipped to Wolf and Klar of Fort Worth, Texas, on November 5, 1924.
This Colt comes to us from the daughter of Leslie Clyde Mallon, a professional baseball player for the Texas League Dallas Steers, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Braves in the early 1930s. One of his acquaintances through his baseball career was Dallas County Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton, an avid baseball player himself who passed up an opportunity to play for the Cleveland Indians. The youngest member of the posse that killed the outlaws, Hinton was given the assignment because he could easily identify both Clyde and Bonnie, a woman he admired. In discussion with Ted’s son, ‘Boots’ Hinton, the proprietor of the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, Louisiana, he confirmed that his father took a Colt. 32 automatic for himself (which has subsequently been stolen) and gave Mallon this .380 Colt as a gift.
This transfers as a modern firearm.
Provenance: Wolf and Klar, Fort Worth, Texas Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker Dallas County Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton Leslie Clyde Mallon Leslie Mallon Savitz
