F. Bam Morrison or J. Bam Morrison was an American fraudster who fooled the town of

Wetumka, Oklahoma Wetumka is a city in northern Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,282 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.7 percent from the figure of 1,451 recorded in 2000. First settled by the Muscogee Creek after removal in the 1830s ...

, into sponsoring a non-existent

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

. Morrison arrived at Wetumka in 1950 claiming to be an advance public-relations man for the ''Bohn's United Circus'', which was supposedly coming to town. He promised great opportunities in the form of tourism and the local purchase of circus supplies. Morrison sold advertising space on the

grounds, promising that the circus would buy its supplies exclusively from the advertisers. The merchants of the town stocked their storage spaces in expectation of increased sales. Morrison collected all money in cash and, after two weeks, he left. No circus arrived on July 24. Residents of Wetumka decided to spend the day in celebration anyway and started the tradition of the annual ''Sucker Day'' with a parade and street fair.

In popular culture

Farrar Straus Giroux published the children's book ''The Flim-Flam Man'' in 1998 based on the Morrison's scam.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, F. Bam American fraudsters Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Wetumka, Oklahoma