George Fletcher | |
|---|---|
 George Fletcher | |
| Occupation(s) | Cowboy and rodeo performer |
George Fletcher (1890-1973) was a cowboy and rodeo rider raised near Pendleton, Oregon. In 1911 he took second place in the Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo, in 1969 he became one of 10 people inducted into the first class of the Pendleton Round-Up Hall of Fame, and in 2001 he was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
George Fletcher was raised near Pendleton, Oregon. Fletcher spent his early years working horses on nearby ranches and on the Umatilla Indian Reservation until he entered his first rodeo at age 16. [1]
George Fletcher was the first African American to compete for a world championship in bronco riding at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup; he was denied the championship saddle by the judges, but the crowd declared him the "People's Champion." [2] [3]
In 1969 Fletcher was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up Hall of Fame. [1] In 2001 he was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. [2]
A bronze statue of George Fletcher, by artist Jerry Werner, was the first statue of an African-American in Pendleton, Oregon. The statue, erected in 2014 and located on the 300 block of Main St., cost $50,000 and was funded through donations from the Pendleton Foundation Trust, the Samuel Johnson Foundation, the Pacific Power Foundation, the Union Pacific Foundation and the Wildhorse Foundation. [4] The statue is the third of four bronze statues that are part of a project led by the Pendleton Arts Commission. It is also part of the Pendleton Bronze Trail of statues. [4] [5]
In 2019 a fictional account of Fletcher's experiences was published in a book titled, "Let 'Er Buck!" George Fletcher, The People's Champion". [6]
Peter Charles Knight was a Canadian and World Champion Rodeo Bronc Rider. Knight was the acclaimed "King of the Cowboys" of the 1930s, and held the Rodeo Association of America title "World Champion Bronc Rider" for 1932, 1933, 1935, and 1936. The Rodeo Hall of Fame in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum inducted Knight in 1958. The Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1998. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, inducted Knight in the Saddle Bronc Riding category when it opened its doors in 1979.
Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson was an American rodeo champion, film actor, film director, and producer. While acting and stunt work began as a sideline to Gibson's focus on rodeo, he successfully transitioned from silent films to become a leading performer in Hollywood's growing cowboy film industry.
The Pendleton Round-Up is a major annual rodeo in the northwestern United States, at Pendleton in northeastern Oregon. Held at the Pendleton Round-Up Stadium during the second full week of September each year since 1910, the rodeo brings roughly 50,000 people every year to the city. The Pendleton Round-Up is a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, inducted the Pendleton Round-Up in 2008.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). The PRCA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.
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. 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'.
Lewis Feild was an American professional rodeo cowboy. He specialized in bareback bronc riding and saddle bronc riding and competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. He was the All-Around World Champion from 1985 to 1987 at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). He was also the Bareback Riding World Champion from 1985 to 1986. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1992 in the all-around category.
Casey Duane Tibbs was an American professional rodeo cowboy, and actor.
Jackson Sundown, born Waaya-Tonah-Toesits-Kahn, was a Native American rodeo rider who has become a folk-hero for his mythic performance in the 1916 Pendleton Round-Up, largely popularized by Ken Kesey's novel The Last Go 'Round.
Charles Osgood "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.
Daniel Earl Mortensen is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in saddle bronc riding. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and won seven world championships; six in saddle bronc riding and one all-around.
Martin Roy Wood was a rodeo cowboy from Bowness, Calgary, in the province of Alberta, Canada. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted Wood in 1991. He was also inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1994. Wood died on August 10, 2019, in Pendleton, Oregon.
Warren Granger "Freckles" Brown was a hall of fame American rodeo cowboy from Wheatland, Wyoming. His career spanned from 1937 to 1974, competing in bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, team roping, and steer wrestling. He was the World Bull Riding Champion in 1962. Brown was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for bull riding in 1979. He was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015. Brown was most famous for riding Tornado, who had an undefeated record of 220 riders. Brown was also a close friend and mentor of Lane Frost.
Walter Scott Bowman was a prominent professional photographer in Pendleton, Oregon. His work is included in the University of Oregon's Bowman, Moorhouse, Furlong, and Drake collections. Bowman captured well known action shots from the Pendleton Round-Up that are included at the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. The National Cowboy Museum includes numerous Bowman photographs and postcard images. Bowman photographed events around Umatilla, Oregon, including parades, marching bands, railroad scenes, Pendleton High School team pictures, dances, studio portraits and images of Native American. The University of Oregon's Walter S. Bowman photographs collection includes 379 glass-plate negatives, 51 cellulose acetate negatives, and 200 silver gelatin photoprints.
Tillie Baldwin, born Anna Mathilda Winger, was an American rodeo contestant and performer in Wild West shows. She is credited as being one of the first women to attempt steer wrestling.
Red Rock #007 was an American bucking bull. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. Bull riders attempted to ride Red Rock 309 times and not one rider was able to ride him until the eight-second whistle in his professional career. His owners brought Red Rock out of retirement in 1988 for a match against Lane Frost. He was also chosen as the PRCA 1987 Bucking Bull of the Year. However, Red Rock is most famous for his association with 1987 PRCA World Champion bull rider Lane Frost and their famous matchup called the Challenge of the Champions. In 1990, both Frost and Red Rock were inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. In 1994, Hollywood released 8 Seconds, a biopic based on Lane Frost's life, which includes his duel with Red Rock. He was the first livestock inducted into the St. Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2017.
Oscar #16 was an American bucking bull. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. In 1979, he was one of the inaugural inductees into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. To date, only eight bulls have been inducted, which is the highest honor a bucking bull can receive in the PRCA. The California Rodeo Salinas inducted Oscar into its hall of fame in 2013. In 2018, the Bull Riding Hall of Fame inducted Oscar. In over 300 attempts, only eight bull riders made qualified rides of the requisite eight seconds on Oscar. Eight-time world champion bull rider Don Gay made the highest-scored ride on him at the time, earning 97 points, just three points short of a perfect score. Oscar's owners retired him in 1979 as a living exhibit to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He remained at the hall until his death in 1983.
Gene Rambo was an American professional rodeo cowboy who competed in International Rodeo Association (IRA) events in the 1940s and 1950s. Rambo won the IRA's all-around cowboy season championship four times between 1946 and 1950. He took part in all the male events in professional rodeo: bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, steer roping, and bull riding.
War Paint was a saddle bronc who was a three-time Rodeo Cowboys Association Bucking Horse of the Year. He won the award in 1956, 1957, and in 1958 he tied with another horse. He was inducted into four halls of fame, the most prominent being the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2011. War Paint was known for his bucking ability and his buck-off record, which was close to 90 percent.