THE ROAD TO THE NFR WAS PAVED WITH STRIKES, TURTLES, AND THE MOB

By Sharee LaRue

If you Google National Finals Rodeo (NFR) history, what do you find? You find a lot, but do any of the articles on the superhighway tell you the actual story from top to bottom? No, they do not. It takes an internet search for the documented facts, but it also takes decades of conversations with cowboys and cowgirls who lived it, and then you have the real story, or as close as you can get to the real story.

This history line has been compiled from facts, “setting around at Rodeos stories” from the greats with a few prominent competition facts. The stories are not just gathered from the contestants, but also from Rodeo personnel, those who promoted Rodeo, and the families who lived it.

1600’s | Bull riding became a sport in Mexico known as Charreadas. It originated from bullfighting, where riders would ride the bull to death or until it refused to buck.

1860 | What we know as Rodeo was started worldwide as cowboys occupied their downtime from work. These events were not timed but judged. The competitions were mainly in Northern Mexico, the United States, Western Canada, and South America. They typically consisted of calf roping, team roping, steer tripping, and bronc riding.

1866 | Walla Walla, WA put on the first semi-organized Rodeo event for ranch hands.

1872 | Cheyenne, WY, put on the second semi-organized Rodeo event for ranch hands.

1883 | Wild West Shows were established as demonstrations of open-range cowboy skills. These events were more like circus acts where cowboys were hired to perform certain feats for fans to enjoy.

1888 | What cowboys call “Cowboy Christmas” got its start on July 4th in the Prescott, AZ Territory as the first town-organized event with advertising, added money, championship prizes, and ticket sales. This first event inspired other towns to organize as well.

1897 | Cheyenne Frontier Days was established.

1904 | Bill Pickett invented steer wrestling and showcased the event at Wild West Shows. It was not like it is today. He jumped off a running horse onto a steer and then bit the animal’s nose to gain control before throwing it to the ground.

1910 | Pendleton Round-Up was established. Promotion managers, contractors, and local town folk made Rodeo a legitimate sport. The first recognized “Rodeo Showman” included Vicente Oropeza, a Mexican trick rider and roper, Bill Picket, a black bronc rider and steer wrestler, and Indian bronc riders Tom Three Persons and Jackson Sundown. Women were also allowed in competition, and the trailblazers included Lucille Mulhall and Bertha Blancett, who, at times, were allowed to compete with men. This was also the year that Cheyenne developed Bareback Riding.

1912 | The Calgary Stampede in Canada was established. 1913 | Tillie Baldwin was the first woman steer wrestler.

1929 | The Rodeo Association of America was created by the businessmen that made money off these types of events to regulate the sport.

1931 | Barrel Racing was founded in Stamford, TX, featuring two barrels.

1935 | Barrel Racing was changed to three barrels.

1936 | On October 30, 88 years ago, cowboys railed in a walkout strike against Col. W.T. Johnson, a rodeo promoter, at the Boston Garden Rodeo in Massachusetts. Johnson refused to include their entry fees and ALL the purse money in the cowboy’s payout and kept it for himself.

Hugh Bennett, who formed the strike and was a two-time World Champion, gathered signatures refusing to compete unless the added money was doubled and the entry fees were added to the purse. If their demands were not met, they would refuse to compete, crashing promoters’ money makers to the ground. No Cowboys, no Rodeo. 61 signed it.

Meanwhile, at the World’s Greatest Rodeo in Chicago, IL, word spread fast through telegram. The Cowboys in Chicago supported the Boston Cowboys in their own petition that also included that they would not travel to Boston to compete in the coming days if the Boston petition was not granted or the Boston Cowboys were not allowed to compete.

Johnson attempted to fill the day’s performance with stall hands. The stall hands stood by the cowboy’s. They all sat in the stands with paying customers looking at an empty arena. Johnson caved, and the contestants competed.

They weren’t speedy in uniting, just like a turtle. They were slow but true. Because of this, they decided to name themselves the Cowboys’ Turtle Association [CTA]. One of the organizers was a woman. She became a four-time National Bronc Riding Champion. Her name was Alice Greenough Orr.

THE FIRST CTA BOARD CONSISTED OF - President, Rusty McGinty; Vice President, Eddie Woods; Secretary-Treasurer, Hugh Bennett; and Speaker, Everett Bowman.

THE 1936 BOSTON PETITION SIGNED BY 61 COWBOYS PICTURED ON THE FIRST PAGE AT THE TOP

COL. W.T. JOHNSON

TED MCCROREY’S CTA MEMBERSHIP CARD FROM 1938

1937 | Rodeo promoters agreed to CTA’s demands, and contracts were signed protecting the cowboys.

1945 | The CTA was renamed the Rodeo Cowboys’ Association [RCA].

1948 | Barrel Racing became a real event in the sport, and the Girls Rodeo Association [GRA] was founded by 74 members and had 60 Rodeos in a season.

1958 | The NFR was established by the RCA. Casey Tibbs, who came to hold seven World titles in rough stock events and was a Hollywood stuntman, founded the concept. He wanted to bring the best stock and cowboys the industry together. The first NFR had $50K added money, which was big money at the time.

1959-1961 | The NFR was hosted in Dallas, TX, at the Texas State Fair Coliseum. The cowboys called it “The Last Rodeo.”

1962-1964 | The NFR was hosted in Los Angeles, CA, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

1965-1978 | The NFR was hosted in Oklahoma City, OK, during the State Fair.

1965 | Women’s Barrel Racing became an NFR event.

1975 | The RCA was renamed the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association [PRCA], which is still current today.

1979-1984 | The NFR was hosted in Oklahoma City, OK, at the Myriad Convention Center.

1981 | GRA changed its name to Women’s Professional Rodeo Association [WPRA].

SB - JIM

ND • SW - WILLARD

OK BB - JACK BUSCHBOM, WI • CR - OLIN YOUNG, NM • BR - JIM SHOLDERS, OK

1963 NFR LA PROGRAM

1984 | History of the Mob and the PRCA

Benny Binion, a mobster who was indicted by the FBI for several crimes and founded illegal gambling, took a shine to Rodeo and its cowboys.

A BRIEF BINION HISTORY - Born in 1904, he started his criminal career in 1924 as a moonshine runner in El Paso, TX, during the Prohibition Era. He moved to Dallas, TX, in 1928 were he started an illegal “numbers game,” which is known today as gambling.

He was convicted of murder in 1931 and had total control of the illegal gambling scene in Dallas, known as the Southland Syndicate. In the early 40’s, he was the reigning mob boss of Dallas.

Binion moved to Vegas in 1946, where gambling was legal, and became one of the founding fathers of the “Vegas Strip.” He was a partner in the Las Vegas Club Casino. In 1949, he opened the Westerner Gambling House and Saloon, which he later sold. In 1951, he bought the Eldorado Club and the Apache Hotel and changed the name to Binion’s Horseshoe. The Horseshoe was soon the biggest game in town. He received several death threats from other casino owners due to his success.

Binion was convicted of tax evasion in 1951, spent five years in the Leavenworth federal penitentiary, and lost his gambling license forever. His son, Jack, became the licensee, and Binion stayed in control. He also created the World Series of Poker [WSOP].

Binion had raised some of the best bucking and pick-up horses in Rodeo over the years. Several of the PRCA’s top stock contractors have bought Binion horses. Due to his high-quality stock, the Benny Binion’s World Famous NFR Bucking Horse & Bull Sale was born and still runs today as one of the biggest events that go hand in hand with the NFR.

For 30 years, he worked to bring the NFR to Vegas and in 1984, he made it happen by being the man behind the money that forced the move. He bankrolled the added money, doubling it from Oklahoma’s $900K to $1.8 million, and increased the contractor’s pay from $200K to $700K.

Not only did he put the NFR on the map of high-end sports, but he also paid the cowboys’ and cowgirls’ entry fees into the NFR and their motel rooms, which continues today.

He also spent his money in other areas of the PRCA to promote Rodeo. One of them was sponsoring the Winston Tour in 1985 and 1986 to the tune of $4 million which led to today’s Wrangler Champions Challenge.

Binion didn’t only help on the business end, he helped the cowboys and their families. Several times he paid medical bills, saved property from foreclosure, paid entry fees to other Rodeos, and gave cowboys jobs that were down on their luck.

1985-2019 | The NFR was hosted in Las Vegas, NV, at the Thomas and Mack Arena.

1985 | 11X World Champion Barrel Racing Champion Charmaine James won the Seventh Go of the NFR on her horse Scamper, the only barrel racing horse inducted into the PRCA Hall of Fame, without a bridle.

1988 | Jim Sharp became the first bull rider to ride all 10 bulls, and Binion was inducted into the PRCA Hall of Fame.

1989 | Bull Rider Tuff Hedeman not only covered his bull in the 10th Round, but rode the bull for another eight seconds fanning his hat in honor of his best friend Lane Frost. Frost was the 1987 World Champion Bull Rider who was killed at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Hedeman won the World title that year. Binion died of heart failure on Christmas Day in Las Vegas. “He was either the gentlest bad guy or the baddest good guy you’d ever seen,” said Amarillo Slim Preston, a WSOP Champion and poker legend.

1990 | Team roper Allen Bach became the first to qualify for the NFR in the 15th hole and climbed to the top winning the World title. A NFR tradition was born to honor Binion after his death. During every performance, the Binion stagecoach, drawn by quarter horses, makes a trip around the Thomas and Mack Arena.

2001 | Cody Hancock breaks a 25-year-old bull riding record by scoring 96 points.

2002 | CTA [1936-1945] had a reunion during the NFR with 10 ten members in attendance. Included were Cecil Jones, Phil Stadtler, Bill Bachman, Jim Shoulders, Buff Douthitt, Buster Ivory, Corky Randall, Chuck Shepard, Holloway Grace, and Bart Clennon. Clennon, at the age of 92, was the only one in attendance who signed the original petition in Boston. Ty Murry retired from Pro Rodeo with seven World All-Around titles.

2003 | Speed Williams and Rich Skelton won their seventh straight World Team Roping title, setting a new record.

2014 | Bull Rider Sage Kimzey tops ALL PRCA records earning $318,631, the World title, the NFR average, the PRCA Rookie of the Year, the RAM Top Gun, and broke the regular season earnings with $175,466 all at the age of 20.

2015 | The added money reaches $10 million for the contestants.

2016 | Barrel Racer Mary Burger broke the regular season record earning $200K+ and the World with over $277K at the age of 68.

2018 | Trevor Brazile retired from full-time Rodeo with 26 World titles.

2020 | The NFR was hosted in Arlington, Texas, at the Globe Life Field due to Nevada’s strict COVID restrictions.