2017 Nominees - Rodeo Hall of Fame

2017Ballot Issue

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLYN SEELEN

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Honor the Champions

G

reetings Rodeo Historical Society members!

My name is Andee Lamoreaux and I serve as the Rodeo Historical Society (RHS) Coordinator. I also work for the Norris family at the Tee Cross Ranch in Colorado Springs, Colorado. My dual duty is fun, exciting, and keeps me busy.

In April, the RHS Board of Directors and the National Cowboy Museum’s Rodeo Committee evaluated the 2017 applications for induction into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. The following pages contain the official nominees with their background.

The date for this year’s Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend has changed to November 9-11, 2017. The Museum’s annual Small Works, Great Wonders® Art Sale and the RHS’ Rodeo Hall of Fame festivities will share the same weekend at the Museum. This will help both events as it is more efficient on production and will increase attendance at both Small Works, Great Wonders and Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend.

Induction into the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy Museum is the highest honor bestowed in the sport of professional rodeo, and voting is one of the greatest privileges of RHS membership. But, voting comes with responsibility. I encourage you to take time to read each candidate’s biography, review their accomplishments, and complete your ballot. Make your selection carefully, giving full consideration to the Rodeo Hall of Fame standards. The following criteria are championed for induction: affiliation with the top professional organizations (PRCA/RCA, WPRA/GRA, etc.) and significant participation at the national level; training of others; military service; and character, including respect by peers, giving back to rodeo, and living a Western lifestyle.

Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend is the largest fundraising event to support RHS. I encourage everyone to attend the 2017 Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, November 9-11, 2017. A Champions’ Dinner will be held on November 11 to celebrate the new inductees.

I look forward to working with each and every one of you. If I may ever be of assistance, do not hesitate to contact me at alamoreaux@nationalcowboymuseum.org or (719) 331-6893.

VOTING RULES: Within these pages is the 2017 slate of nominees for induction into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Rodeo Hall of Fame. Induction to the Hall is one of the top honors that can be bestowed on a rodeo cowboy or cowgirl, and your vote determines who is inducted. The Museum has held inductions since 1955, five years before the building opened, and has honored more than 360 rodeo legends who helped shape the sport as it is known today.

After careful consideration of all applicants, the RHS Board of Directors and the Museum’s Rodeo Committee are pleased to present a biographical summary of each outstanding nominee for your consideration.

Summaries are presented by category in alphabetical order. RHS members may vote for one inductee from the deceased category and four inductees from the living category. Ballots must be postmarked on or before August 1, 2017, to be counted.

Handwritten or photocopied ballots, or ballots returned to the National Cowboy Museum, will NOT be accepted or counted. Only numbered, official ballots returned in the envelope provided will be counted. Results will be certified by an outside accounting firm at the close of voting.

All ballots MUST be mailed to the following address for consideration: The Rodeo Historical Society, Rodeo Hall of Fame Balloting 3126 South Blvd., PMB164 Edmond, OK 73013

Living Nominees

Rodeo Historical Society

BUNKY BOGER (1930) Bullfighting, Rodeo Clown

Over time, Boger began training his own animals, and his bullfighting evolved into an animal and comedy act. He trained dogs, a miniature Brahman, a blanket appaloosa, and even a buffalo to perform tricks for his show. Traveling to rodeos throughout North America, Boger became a mainstay in the rodeo world, and was even chosen to work the barrel at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1975.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY FERRELL BUTLER

Bunky Boger was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, May 28, 1930. At age 6 he began spending summers with family friends in Wyoming where a love of the West took hold of him. Wanting to be a cowboy, as a teenager Boger began riding bulls — and then steer wrestling — at local rodeos to earn money. Soon the bullfighters caught his eye; Boger figured he could make more money if he fought bulls every performance instead of competing.

In the late ‘70s, Boger began to travel with the circus and, in 1994, the fair business. Though Boger is no longer in rodeo, the world of rodeo is still with Boger, as his act has evolved to include an educational aspect that teaches children lessons about agriculture, farming, and the rural lifestyle.

STEVE DUHON (1962) Steer Wrestling

Steve Duhon was born May 27, 1962, in Opelousas, Louisiana. His father, Billy, trained racehorses, so Steve grew up learning to ride. He also grew up wanting to rodeo, and started competing while in high school. A skilled athlete, Duhon was a standout football player in high school and college, even playing on the Louisiana State University football team. When it came time to decide between rodeo and football, however, Duhon chose rodeo.

Though he competed in all timed rodeo events, he was primarily a bulldogger – and a great one at that. Named 1985 PRCA Steer Wrestling Rookie of the Year, Duhon went on to win the world steer wrestling title in 1986, 1987, and 1993. He qualified for the NFR a total of eight times (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1998), winning the NFR average twice (1987 and 1993). In 1986 he set an NFR record with a run of 3 seconds flat – a time that was tied by Brian Fields in 2001, but has yet to be surpassed.

A 2003 inductee into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Duhon retired from professional rodeo in 2000. Yet, he continues to train and mentor the next generation of steer wrestlers. He and his wife, Janet, live in Jasper, Texas.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY KENDRA SANTOS

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY KENDRA SANTOS

Bunky Boger and Kajun Kid Rusk, Texas Rodeo, 1962 Dickinson Research Center

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

JUNIOR GARRISON (1938) Calf Roping

James “Junior” Garrison was born February 5, 1938, northeast of Duncan, Oklahoma.

Though rodeo was not part of his family’s life, as a young man Garrison traded a pig for a 3-year-old horse named Pluto and began roping goats. “That’s when roping became a passion,” he said. After graduating from Duncan High School, Garrison worked various jobs, spending his free time roping.

In 2014 Garrison was voted a Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo Living Legend. Today, he lives on a ranch northeast of Rush Springs, Oklahoma, with his wife, Ruth, a five-time Canadian barrel-racing champion.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEVERE HELFRICH

In 1963 Garrison became a full-time calf roper. The next year he qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in Los Angeles, California, his first of 11 total NFR qualifications. At the 1966 NFR in Oklahoma City, Garrison beat out seven-time tie-down champion Dean Oliver to win the average and the world championship. On August 5, 1967, at the Evergreen, Colorado, rodeo, Garrison roped a calf in 7.5 seconds, a record-breaking time that earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for more than a decade. In 1968, he won the NFR average in the calf roping, finishing with 128.6 seconds on nine head, and two years later, in 1970, he won his second calf-roping world championship.

JOHN W. JONES JR. (1960) Steer Wrestling

John W. “Johnny” Jones Jr. was born August 13, 1960, in Santa Maria, California. Growing up he played football, baseball, and basketball. Jones’ athleticism would eventually spur him, at the age of 15, to follow in the rodeo footsteps of his father, John W. Jones Sr., who was the 1956 Rookie of the Year and NFR Steer Wrestling Champion in 1970.

A two-time California high school state champion steer wrestler and tie-down roper in 1977 and 1978, Jones was the 1979 NIRA West Coast Region bulldogging champion. Named 1981 overall PRCA Rookie of the Year, Jones joined his father in becoming the first-ever father and son to both earn the honor. He qualified for the NFR 10 times in steer wrestling, winning the 10-head NFR average in 1998 and World Steer Wrestling Champion titles in 1984, 1988, and 1989.

Though bulldogging was Jones’ specialty, he competed in all timed events in every major rodeo and many of the small- and medium-sized rodeos, too, twice qualifying for the NFR in calf-roping. In 1996 Jones was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame next to his father, who was an inaugural member in 1979. Today, Jones farms and ranches in Morro Bay, California.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY KENDRA SANTOS

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY KENDRA SANTOS

Junior Garrison calf roping, 1966, Pendleton, Oregon, 81.023.28438-05.

Rodeo Historical Society

TOM C. MILLER (1948) Saddle Bronc Riding

Tom C. Miller was born December 27, 1948, in Rapid City, South Dakota. He shares the record for most saddle bronc average titles after becoming the saddle bronc average winner at the NFR in 1975, 1979, and 1981.

A PRCA judge for more than 20 years, Miller served on the PRCA Rules Committee four years and the PRCA Humane Committee for two years. He was an NFR judge five years, being selected by saddle bronc contestants three times. A rancher since graduating from college, Miller was inducted into the Casey Tibbs Foundation in 1994 and the Black Hills State University Hall of Fame in 2011. For more than 30 years he instructed at saddle bronc schools, and continues to mentor young bronc riders.

PHOTOGRAPH BY BERN GREGORY

As a student at Black Hills State College in Spearfish, South Dakota, Miller led a rodeo team that dominated national collegiate rodeo competition in the early 1970s. He excelled at both ends of the arena, becoming the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association all-around champion in 1970 and 1971. The Badlands Circuit Saddle Bronc champion from 1977 to 1980, he qualified for the NFR six times, coming short of winning the world title in 1981 by just $5.28.

TED NUCE (1961) Bull Riding

Ted Nuce was born January 19, 1961, in French Camp, California. When he was 5 years old his parents bought him a pony that he rode bareback; when he was 10 he began working at a stable near his home. At the age of 15 Nuce attended Larry Mahan’s bull riding school, and soon after attended Gary Leffew’s.

After joining the PRCA, Nuce was named 1980 Rookie of the Year. In 1985 — the NFR’s first year in Las Vegas — he was the World Bull Riding Champion. In 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1991 he was the Reserve World Champion. Nuce was also a two-time Gold Medalist at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, and winner of the 1994 Professional Bull Riders (PBR ) finals. He qualified for the NFR in bull riding an astonishing 14 consecutive times — a record he still holds to this day. He also had a record 18 go-round wins in bull riding from 1982–1995.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY FAIN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLYN SEELEN

Tom C. Miller on Sorrel Top, Black Jack, Missouri, 1975, Dickinson Research Center

Outside of the arena, Nuce is as much a champion for bull riding as he is a champion within. In April 1992, he was one of the original 20 co-founders of the PBR. He is also a PBR Ring of Honor member and a 2009 inductee into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. An advocate for underprivileged youth, Nuce and his wife, Stephanie, live in Stephenville, Texas.

Ted Nuce on Red Heat (Ivy) 2nd go-round of the 1989 National Finals Rodeo

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Deceased Nominees JOSEPH BARTLES (1875-1956) Rodeo Producer

Joseph Bartles was born December 15, 1875, near the Cherokee Nation settlement of Turkey Creek in Indian Territory. His father, Jacob H. Bartles, married Nancy Journeycake — the daughter of Delaware Chief Rev. Charles Journeycake — in Wyandotte County, Kansas, in 1868. In 1873 the Bartleses relocated to the Cherokee Nation, where they eventually established two present-day Oklahoma communities: Bartlesville and Dewey.

As his parents’ only surviving child (Charles, born in 1869, died soon after his first birthday), Bartles was educated at Bacone school (near present-day Muskogee) and Kirkwood Military Academy in Kirkwood, Missouri. He returned to Indian Territory, where he assumed responsibility for his father’s various interests including cattle, a general store, oil and gas operations, banking, farming, transportation, and established the state’s first commercial airplane manufacturing business.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES CATHEY

In 1908, Bartles organized the first Dewey Roundup — with local cowboys participating in roping and riding contests — as entertainment for a Civil War reunion his father hosted. From these humble beginnings, the Dewey Roundup became one of the largest rodeos in the world, rivaling Calgary, Cheyenne, and Pendleton. Under Bartles’ leadership, the rodeo became a Fourth of July mainstay until it ended in 1949. Bartles married Edith Ross on June 18, 1913. He passed away February 3, 1956, at age 80.

JAMES CATHEY (1917-1978) Rodeo Photographer

James Cathey was born February 16, 1917, in Childress County, Texas. The oldest of seven children, Cathey was forced to become the man of the house after his father left during the Great Depression. After graduating from Childress High School, he enrolled in Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University); the advent of World War II, however, cut short his college career. After joining the Army Air Corps and marrying his sweetheart, Margie Johnson, Cathey served as a top turret gunner on a B17 flying missions over Europe.

Following the war, the Catheys moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where James began working as a photojournalist. Soon, he had the idea to travel to various rodeos on weekends to photograph the action. He began to sell contestants photos of themselves competing. The rest, as they say, is history.

From the late 1940s to the early 1970s, Cathey amassed a photographic collection of more than 68,000 negatives covering American rodeos, stock shows, state fairs, and America Quarter Horse Association champions. This amazing photographic record of America’s mid-20th century Western culture — covering every major rodeo and rodeo contestant of Cathey’s time period — was recently donated by his four sons to the Dickinson Research Center at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Cathey died June 2, 1978, at age 61.

James Cathey photographing a bareback bronc rider at a rodeo in West Texas in 1956.

No other details are known. This is from a photo postcard that another photographer mailed to Cathey with no comment on the back.

Rodeo Historical Society

MARION MCLAIN (1889-1972) Rodeo Producer

Marion Francis “Mac” McLain was born in Nebraska on May 13, 1889. As a child, his family moved to Toronto, Kansas, and, later, Barber County, Kansas. On November 2, 1912, McLain married Ruth Massey. Together the couple established a ranch at Sun City, Kansas, and raised three children: Marjorie, Max, and Mark.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DICKINSON RESEARCH CENTER

In 1921, McLain produced the first-annual McLain Roundup, which became recognized as the largest independently owned and produced rodeo.

McLain possessed a flair for showmanship that drew crowds to the Sun City Rodeo. His rodeo included a Grand Entrée by all participants; a Cheyenne encampment where tribal rituals were performed; and the inclusion of a carnival midway. The rodeo action, however, was the greatest attraction, and included bronc and steer riding, wild cow milking, buffalo riding, and chuck wagon racing. The McLain Roundup drew not only local contestants, but also world champions like Bob Crosby, Ike Rude, Everett Shaw, and Dick Truitt; female star Fox Hastings; rodeo clowns Pinky Gist and Charlie Shultz; and veteran rodeo photographer Homer Venters. The McLain Roundup was discontinued in 1939.

Involved in the formation of the Cowboys’ Turtle Association (CTA), McLain became a life member of its successor organization, the RCA. He passed away on August 21, 1972, in Greensburg, Kansas.

JAMES “HYDE” MERRITT (1922-1983)

Calf Roping, Team Roping, Steer Roping, Stock Contractor Hyde Merritt was born May 24, 1922, in Federal, Wyoming. Son of World Champion Steer Roper King Merritt, Hyde was exposed early to roping, rodeoing, and stock contracting.

While attending the University of Wyoming, in 1941 Merritt was instrumental in establishing the first University of Wyoming college rodeo, including writing the bylaws.

After service in World War II, Merritt returned to co-found and edit The Rodeo News from 1946-1948. From 1948-1949, he was editor and West Coast manager for Western Horseman magazine, and in 1950 became editor for Quarter Horse News magazine.

Remembered by many as the “godfather of steer roping,” Merritt helped secure a home for the National Finals Steer Roping in Laramie, Wyoming, from 1973-1983 when many thought the sport was facing collapse. Merritt passed away on his family’s ranch in January 1983.

Hyde Merritt steer roping Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1956 Dickinson Research Center

PHOTOGRAPH BY DEVERE HELFRICH

Merritt stayed busy outside of publishing, too. He is a founder of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, became an RCA member in 1945, and founded or served various Quarter Horse associations. Merritt became an esteemed Quarter Horse judge and breeder as well as a rodeo stock contractor of high regard. He was also instrumental in bringing pari-mutual betting to Wyoming.

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Directors’ Choice ED LETOURNEAU, DVM (1935) Bull Riding

Ed LeTourneau was born September 18, 1935, in San Francisco, California. He learned to ride and cowboy at the ranch of his uncle Norman Higgins who raised cutting steers.

Following in the footsteps of his older brother Ray, LeTourneau began riding calves and steers, competing in his first rodeo at age 13. He then tested his abilities on both bareback and saddle broncs. At the age of 16 he switched to riding bulls, beginning at an open rodeo in Clements, California.

LeTourneau qualified for the first National Finals Rodeo in 1959, finishing fifth in the world. He qualified again in 1961 and 1967, although he did not compete in 1967 due to a dislocated shoulder. He used his rodeo earnings to attend veterinary school at the University of California, Davis. While there, he won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association reserve championship in 1961 and was the college champion in 1962. He graduated with a doctorate in veterinary medicine from U.C. Davis in 1962, the same year he married his wife, Frankie. LeTourneau became a resident veterinarian for a thoroughbred operation in Madera, California, then accepted a position at a Quarter Horse ranch in Oakdale, California, before settling again in Madera to open his own veterinary practice in 1976.

Though LeTourneau won numerous bull riding titles across the country during his career — including Portland (1959), Salinas (1959), Calgary (1960), Los Angeles (1961), Cheyenne (1961), and Pendleton (1961) — by the time he established his own veterinary practice in 1976, he assumed his bull riding days were over, though he did occasionally team rope. Then, in the 1980s, LeTourneau returned to bull riding with the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association (NSPRA). He was a four-time NSPRA world champion bull rider (1991–1994) and won the NSPRA Finals in 1991 and 1992. He participated in NSPRA bull riding well into the late ‘90s, taking his final ride atop a bull in competition at age 64.

Now retired after 53 years as a veterinarian, LeTourneau is a member of the NSPRA Hall of Fame; the Oakdale, California, High School Athletic Hall of Fame; and the U.C. Davis Athletic Hall of Fame.

According to the Rodeo Historical Society (RHS) bylaws, the RHS Board of Directors may choose in any given year to induct into the Rodeo Hall of Fame an individual that it feels should be honored. This special RHS Board of Directors selection need not be presented every year. The only stipulation for the RHS Directors’ special nominee is that the honoree cannot currently be serving on the RHS Board of Directors at the time they are inducted.

(Members will not find this entry on their ballot form for voting; it is provided for their information only.)

Ed LeTourneau on Bull #8 Great Western Rodeo Los Angeles, California, 1959