On June 14, 1958, Wells Fargo arranged to have "Sport" Fellingham drive a stagecoach at the opening of a Wells Fargo branch in Hayward, California. That Saturday afternoon, Fellingham's stagecoach, outriders and two Buick automobiles paraded through Hayward. It was the first appearance of thousands that have followed in the 50 years since.

At 1:30 p.m., the parade began at Wells Fargo's temporary branch. On board the coach were Sport Fellingham at the reins, his eight-year-old son Paul and two "guardians of the transferring funds," bank officers O'Brien and Seider. Riding beside Sport and toting a shotgun, TV star Dale Robertson  waved to the crowd and lent importance to the event as only a TV star can.

Robertson, star of the popular TV series Tales of Wells Fargo, was enjoying the success of his NBC series, which continued for another three years until 1961.

At the luncheon preceding the parade, Wells Fargo president I.W. Hellman III  noted the marketing windfall of Robertson's portrayal of Wells Fargo man Jim Hardie: "The TV show has been a fine thing for the bank. It has made our name a household word throughout the country!"

With driver, bankers and celebrity in place, the stagecoach picked up a treasure box and rolled through downtown Hayward to the new branch at 2nd and "A" Streets. Hellman and Hayward Councilman John Purchio delivered short speeches that celebrated the opening. Robertson delivered the treasure box to branch manager Don Wharton, and Hellman presented keys to the new building.

Wharton opened the treasure box and removed the bags of money packed there. "Let's take our funds into the bank!" he cried, then opened the bank's door and led everyone inside.

Employees of the new branch served refreshments, directed customers to exhibits inside, and helped open new accounts. Robertson, meanwhile, held court behind the teller stand. He signed autographs and handed out Agent's badges to the crowd of several hundred in attendance.

The event was a resounding success and Wells Fargo publicity people knew they had a sure bet on their hands — they planned three more events that year.

And the rest, as we say, is history!