Established | 2012 |
---|---|
Location | Cowtown Coliseum Fort Worth Stockyards Fort Worth, Texas, United States |
Type | Hall of Fame |
Website | Bull Riding Hall of Fame |
The Bull Riding Hall of Fame, located at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, is a hall of fame for the sport of bull riding. [1] It is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Texas, and created to "recognize, memorialize, and applaud the bull riders, bullfighters, bulls, stock contractors, events, and individuals who have made a historic contribution and attained stellar performance in the sport." Membership is open to fans worldwide. [1]
The Bull Riding Hall of Fame intends to honor all of the bull riding champions. [2] But the hall also has other goals to preserve the history of bull riding, housing "inductee exhibits, accomplishments, photos, videos, personal effects and much more". The Bull Riding Hall of Fame has four categories of induction: Bull Riders, Bull Fighters, Bulls, and Legends. [2]
The inaugural class of inductions was in 2015. [3] The hall opened its doors to the public in 2016. [4] [5]
The founders created the Bull Riding Hall of Fame, Inc., "to recognize bull riders, bull fighters, bulls, organizations, competitive events, and stock contractors that have achieved the ultimate level of performance in the sport of bull riding." [6] The organization's activities include historical presentation, visitor education, event hosting, and managing via multiple committees. [6]
The founders were involved in overseeing the building of the foundation hall, and also maintaining the Bull Riding Hall of Fame museum at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth. [7] Husband and wife team, Bill and Tammi Putnam, were co-founders and respectively served as president and treasurer, as well as the board of directors. Bill Putnam's daughter, Amy Ellinger, served as secretary. [6]
The Bull Riding Hall of Fame Museum is located at Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth Stockyards, Fort Worth, Texas. [7]
One class of nominees is inducted into the hall each year. Inductees are selected by the nominations and votes of Members, which includes Inductees. [2] Annual and Lifetime memberships along with Gold Rowel Partnerships are available for individuals, couples, companies and organizations. [8] Sponsors can be an individual, couple, organization, or corporation. [9]
From 2015 through 2019, the annual induction ceremony was held at Cowtown Coliseum. Since 2020, it has been held at Billy Bob's Texas.
The Bull Riding Hall of Fame has inducted individuals from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA), and Professional Bull Riders (PBR).
The inductees, human and animal, are among the most notable individuals and organizations in the sport. [3]
More than half of them are also inductees of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, including bullfighter Wick Peth. [10] [11] Others include PRCA bull rider Lane Frost, [12] famous for his duel with Red Rock in the Challenge of the Champions.
From the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) there are several Ring of Honor holders from the Heroes and Legends Celebration which is the PBR equivalent of a Hall of Fame. Chris Shivers, a holder of several records in the PBR and a 2013 Ring of Honor holder. [13] Another Ring of Honor holder is bull rider Tuff Hedeman, one of the riders who conquered Bodacious. [13] [14] Hedeman competed in the PRCA and the PBR. He is also in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. [15]
Out of the three bulls that have been inducted as of 2017 [update] , two of them are also in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Tornado was inducted in 1979. [16] Bodacious was inducted in 1999. [17] [18] Bodacious was the only bull to win the PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year and the PBR World Champion Bull titles in 1995, until Bruiser did it in 2017. [19] [20]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
Don Gay | September 8, 1953 | Living | Bull Rider |
Jim Shoulders | May 13, 1928 | June 20, 2007 | Bull Rider |
Warren G. Brown | January 18, 1921 | March 20, 1987 | Bull Rider |
Harry Tompkins | October 5, 1927 | June 29, 2018 | Bull Rider |
George Paul | March 3, 1947 | July 30, 1970 | Bull Rider |
Larry Mahan | November 21, 1943 | May 7, 2023 | Bull Rider |
Skipper Voss | March 15, 1944 | Living | Bull Fighter |
Wick Peth | April 15, 1930 | December 27, 2019 | Bull Fighter |
George Paul Memorial Bull Riding | N/A | N/A | Legend |
Mesquite Rodeo - Neal Gay | June 25, 1926 | August 11, 2022 | Legend |
V-61 | Circa 1962 | 1974 | Bull |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
Myrtis Dightman | May 7, 1935 | Living | Bull Rider |
John Quintana | December 3, 1947 | March 25, 2013 | Bull Rider |
Gary Leffew | September 23, 1944 | Living | Bull Rider |
Jim "Razor" Sharp | October 6, 1965 | Living | Bull Rider |
Terry Don West | October 7, 1965 | Living | Bull Rider |
Jack Wiseman | November 5, 1943 | December 1, 2015 | Bull Rider |
Tuff Hedeman | March 2, 1963 | Living | Bull Rider |
Kajun Kidd (D. J. Gaudin) | October 28, 1929 | June 11, 2015 | Bull Fighter |
Harry Vold | January 29, 1924 | March 13, 2017 | Legend |
Steiner Rodeo Co. | N/A | N/A | Legend |
Tornado | 1957 | 1972 | Bull |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
Denny Flynn | April 21, 1951 | Living | Bull Rider |
Bill Kornell | March 13, 1944 | Living | Bull Rider |
Dick Griffith | September 13, 1913 | August 10, 1984 | Bull Rider |
Chris Shivers | December 30, 1978 | Living | Bull Rider |
Randy Magers | May 5, 1945 | Living | Bull Rider |
Lane Frost | October 12, 1963 | July 30, 1989 | Bull Rider |
Rob Smets | September 11, 1959 | Living | Bull Fighter |
Clem McSpadden | November 9, 1925 | July 7, 2008 | Legend |
Bob Tallman | October 25, 1947 | Living | Legend |
Bodacious | 1988 | May 16, 2000 | Bull |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
Ronnie Rossen | July 7, 1937 | August 16, 1991 | Bull Rider |
Ty Murray | October 11, 1969 | Living | Bull Rider |
Glen Bird | November 10, 1945 | Living | Bull Rider |
Wacey Cathey | June 29, 1953 | Living | Bull Rider |
Jerome Davis | August 10, 1972 | Living | Bull Rider |
Ted Nuce | January 19, 1961 | Living | Bull Rider |
Bob Wegner | March 10, 1934 | March 30, 2014 | Bull Rider |
Miles Hare | August 17, 1955 | Living | Bull Fighter |
Ferrell Butler | October 16, 1936 | Living | Legend |
Cotton Rosser - Flying U Rodeo | August 5, 1928 | June 22, 2022 | Legend |
Oscar | 1983 | Bull |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
Butch Kirby | April 24, 1955 | Living | Bull Rider |
Charlie Sampson [21] | July 2, 1957 | Living | Bull Rider |
Bobby Steiner | November 27, 1951 | Living | Bull Rider |
Jerome Robinson | October 16, 1947 | January 9, 2022 | Bull Rider |
Ken Roberts | January 22, 1918 | September 13, 1975 | Bull Rider |
Bobby Berger | June 22, 1945 | Living | Bull Rider |
Cody Custer | August 30, 1965 | Living | Bull Rider |
Leon Coffee | October 11, 1954 | Living | Bull Fighter |
Beutler Rodeo Company | N/A | N/A | Legend |
Jerry Gustafson | Living | Legend | |
Old Spec | 1953 | Bull [22] |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bobby DelVecchio | March 20, 1957 | Living | Bull Rider | [23] |
Justin McBride | August 7, 1979 | Living | Bull Rider | [24] [25] |
Marvin Paul Shoulders | February 27, 1951 | Living | Bull Rider | [26] |
Doug Brown | March 8, 1946 | Living | Bull Rider | [27] |
Sandy Kirby | April 8, 1949 | Living | Bull Rider | [28] |
Smokey Snyder | June 1, 1908 | October 24, 1965 | Bull Rider | [29] |
Adriano Morães | April 20, 1970 | Living | Bull Rider | [30] |
Joe Baumgartner | September 9, 1966 | Living | Bull Fighter | [31] |
Lecile Harris | November 6, 1936 | February 12, 2020 | Legend | [32] [33] |
Hadley Barrett | September 18, 1929 | March 2, 2017 | Legend | [34] |
Bushwacker | June 1, 2006 | Living | Bull | [35] |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Gaffney | July 4, 1969 | Living | Bull Rider | [36] [37] |
Ben Jordan | November 30, 1931 | March 19, 2022 | Bull Rider | [38] |
Mike White | September 26, 1976 | Living | Bull Rider | [39] |
John Clark | June 18, 1936 | Living | Bull Rider | |
Duane Howard | August 2, 1933 | October 1, 2015 | Bull Rider | |
Phil Lyne | January 18, 1947 | Living | Bull Rider | [40] |
Willie Thomas | January 30, 1930 | April 24, 2020 | Bull Rider | [41] |
Clint Branger | April 7, 1964 | Living | Bull Rider | [42] |
Quail Dobbs | August 27, 1941 | January 15, 2014 | Bull Fighter | [43] |
Bad Company Rodeo | Legend | [44] | ||
Red Rock | 1976 | June 8, 1994 | Bull | [45] |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
J.W. Harris | July 14, 1986 | Living | Bull Rider |
Guilherme Marchi | July 22, 1982 | Living | Bull Rider |
Cody Hart | April 20, 1978 | Living | Bull Rider |
Ed LeTourneau | September 18, 1935 | Living | Bull Rider |
Scott Mendes | July 4, 1969 | Living | Bull Rider |
Troy Dunn | May 8, 1967 | Living | Bull Rider |
Matt Austin | September 3, 1982 | Living | Bull Rider |
Billy Minick | January 10, 1939 | Living | Bull Rider |
Rex Dunn | December 31, 1955 | October 8, 2012 | Bull Fighter |
Bryan McDonald | October 10 | Living | Legend |
Little Yellow Jacket | August 20, 1996 | September 19, 2011 | Bull |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
Cody Snyder | March 28, 1963 | Living | Bull Rider [46] |
Rickey Lindsey | September 16, 1960 | Living | Bull Rider [47] |
Dickey Cox | July 12, 1939 | March 20, 2015 | Bull Rider [48] |
Kenny Wilcox | 1954 | Living | Bull Rider [49] |
John "Stormy" Gloor | July 16, 1952 | November 16, 2019 | Bull Rider [50] |
Ronnie Bowman | 1941 | Living | Bull Rider [51] |
R.C. Bales | 1930 | Living | Bull Rider [52] |
Rick Chatman | May 1, 1956 | March 25, 2014 | Bull Fighter [53] |
Cody Lambert | December 2, 1961 | Living | Legend |
Bernis Johnson | September 19, 1932 | October 27, 2022 | Legend [54] |
Cowtown | 1978 | 1993 | Bull [55] [56] |
Source: [3]
Inductee | Birthdate | Deathdate | Induction Category |
---|---|---|---|
Johnie Schneider | 1904 | April 4, 1982 | Bull Rider |
J.B. Mauney | January 9, 1987 | Living | Bull Rider |
Pete Gay | March 2, 1952 | Living | Bull Rider |
J.W. Hart | March 28, 1975 | Living | Bull Rider |
Gene Lyda | June 20, 1947 | Living | Bull Rider |
Kody Lostroh | September 18, 1985 | Living | Bull Rider |
Ricky Bolin | November 24, 1958 | Living | Bull Rider |
Frank Newsom | October 28 | Living | Bull Fighter |
Roy Carter | November 25, 1961 | Living | Legend |
Chad Berger | August 16 | Living | Legend |
Bruiser | March 2, 2011 | May 17, 2022 | Bull |
Source: [3]
Lane Clyde Frost was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull rider. Frost was also the only rider ever to score a qualified ride on Red Rock, the 1987 PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year. During a ride in 1989 nicknamed "The Last Ride", Lane sustained fatal injuries when the bull Takin' Care of Business struck Frost with his right horn. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Bodacious #J-31 was an American bucking bull. He was known throughout the rodeo world as "the world's most dangerous bull". He was also known as "the greatest bull ever to buck". During his rodeo career, he was the 1994 and 1995 Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) Bucking Bull of the Year, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Champion Bull. He and Bruiser are the only bulls who have won bucking bull world championship titles in both organizations.
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, present and future." It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and only inducts Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women's Professional Rodeo Association members. It is the "only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the sport of professional rodeo."
Larry Mahan was an American professional rodeo cowboy. He won six all-around world championships and two bull riding world championships in the Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit at the National Finals Rodeo.
James A. "Jim" Shoulders was an American professional rodeo cowboy and rancher. He is commemorated at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. At the time of his death, he was one of the most successful contestants in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), having won 16 World Championships, which was the most of any performer at that time. He was known as the 'Babe Ruth of rodeo'.
Cody Lambert is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He specialized in saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He was also a co-founder and vice president of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). He created the protective vest that professional bull riders have been required to wear for many years, after witnessing the death of his friend, Lane Frost at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 30, 1989. Since 2022, Lambert has been the head coach of the Texas Rattlers during the PBR Teams Series season.
Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding. He won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championship three times, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) world championship. He also won the 1993 world championship for the now-defunct Bull Riders Only (BRO) organization. He is also one of the co-founders of the PBR and is known for having been one of rodeo icon Lane Frost's closest friends. Hedeman and the infamous bucking bull Bodacious had a few historic clashes. He later served as the President of the PBR and then the President and Ambassador of Championship Bull Riding (CBR). In 2018, he formed his own bull riding organization: the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour (THBRT).
Cowtown Coliseum is a 3,418-seat arena in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, that hosts weekly rodeos. It also occasionally hosts concerts and local team sporting events.
The Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas, dedicated to the sport of rodeo.
DonaldGay is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He won eight Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championships; a record as of 2024. His father, Neal Gay, was a well-known rodeo competitor and later rodeo producer and stock contractor. Don was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979; Neal was inducted in 1993, becoming the only father and son to receive that honor. In 2015, Don was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
Charles "Charlie" Sampson is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He was the 1982 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion bull rider. He is the first African American cowboy to win a world championship in professional rodeo. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1996.
Myrtis Dightman is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee. Known as the "Jackie Robinson of Rodeo", Dightman was the first African-American to compete at the National Finals Rodeo.
Ted Nuce is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion bull rider in 1985, and was a co-founder of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) in 1992. He won the inaugural PBR World Finals event in 1994. In his career, he qualified for the NFR 14 consecutive times from 1982 through 1995 and qualified for the first two PBR World Finals in 1994 and 1995.
James Carroll "Jim" Sharp is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. In 1988, he became the first bull rider in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)'s National Finals Rodeo history to successfully ride each of his 10 bulls during the champion-crowning event. The record-breaking performance earned Sharp his first of two PRCA World Champion Bull Rider titles. He rode professionally for nearly 20 years, and was a co-founder of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). He is considered among the most talented bull riders in history.
Championship Bull Riding, Inc. (CBR) was a professional bull riding organization that was based in Weatherford, Texas, United States.
Scott Mendes is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He won the 1997 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championship, and is the inventor of Rodeo Judge, the original rodeo card game. He was also a co-founder of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). In 2022, he was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
Skoal Pacific Bell #14 was an American bucking bull best known for being the only three-time consecutive Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Bucking Bull of the Year and for only being ridden 5 times in 150 attempts. In 2007, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. As of 2016, he was the seventh and most recent bull so honored. The PRCA said in an official YouTube induction video that "Skoal Pacific Bell was a crowd pleaser and a cowboy challenger."
The Professional Bull Riders Heroes and Legends celebration honors five divisions in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), including the best bucking bulls.
Bull Riders Only, Inc. (BRO) was a professional bull riding organization based in Englewood, Colorado, United States.
Jerome Carson Davis is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), in which he won the 1995 PRCA bull riding world championship. He also competed in the Bull Riders Only (BRO) and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuits; the latter of which he was one of the founding members.