History of Rodeo - Rodeo After World War I

Rodeo After World War I

World War I nearly killed rodeo, but three men and two organizations brought it back to greater prominence, not in the West where it was born, but in the big cities of the East. Tex Austin created the Madison Square Garden Rodeo in 1922. It immediately became the premier event. Overshadowing Cheyenne Frontier Days, its winners were thereafter recognized as the unofficial world champions. In 1924, Austin produced the London Rodeo at Wembley Stadium, universally acknowledged as the most successful international contest in rodeo history. However, despite his triumphs, Austin lost control of the Madison Square Garden contest, and his influence dwindled. A Texan, Col. William T. Johnson, took over the Garden rodeo. He soon began producing rodeos in other eastern indoor arenas, which forever changed the nature of the sport. There was no room indoors for races, and time constraints limited the number of events that could be included. Rodeos no longer lasted all day as they did under the western sky. Nonetheless, Johnson was a major figure in modernizing and professionalizing the sport. He also enabled big-time rodeo to thrive during the Great Depression. Prior to WWI, cowboys and cowgirls could not earn a living on rodeo winnings alone. Most were also Wild West show performers, and exhibition or "contract acts" at rodeos. The top names could appear in vaudeville in the off-season. Others found whatever jobs they could. But with the advent of the producers, and the expansion of the eastern circuit, rodeo gradually became a lucrative career for the best contestants, even as Wild West shows diminished and vanished. During the depths of the Depression, the rodeo publication "Hoofs and Horns," estimated the average cowboy's earnings at $2,000-$3,000 annually. This placed them well above teachers, and near or above dentists in income. A few superstars earned far more.

By 1934, every rodeo that Johnson produced had set attendance records. A typical Johnson rodeo featured sixteen events, of which six were contests: cowboys bareback and saddle bronc riding, cowgirl bronc riding, cowboys steer riding, steer wrestling, and calf roping. Steer riding has now become bull riding, but other than that, Johnson's cowboy contests are the same as those mandated by the PRCA today. On the other hand, entertainment features such as basketball games on horseback and horseback quadrilles have largely disappeared.

In 1929 two events occurred which split rodeo down the geographic middle: superstar cowgirl Bonnie McCarroll died as a result of a bronc riding accident at Pendleton, Oregon. Her death caused many western rodeos to drop women’s contests. That same year, western rodeo producers formed the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) in an attempt to bring order to the chaotic sport. Largely as a result of McCarroll's death, the RAA was organized as an all-male entity. Despite pleas to do so, they refused to include any women’s contests. The RAA hoped to standardize rules and events, and eliminate the unscrupulous promoters who threatened the integrity of the sport. The RAA also set out to determine the "true world's champion cowboys," based on a system of points derived from on money won in their sanctioned rodeos. This remains the basic system used today, but the dream of having only one "world's champion" would not be realized for decades.

If not for the McCarroll tragedy, the rest of rodeo history might have been very different. It is unlikely there would ever have been a need for the WPRA, and barrel racing would probably not exist. Eastern producers did align themselves with Col. Johnson who ignored the RAA, and continued include lucrative cowgirl contests at their rodeos. But that was short lived. The cowboys hated Col Johnson, whom they felt distributed prize money unfairly, and mostly to himself, while treating them with disdain. In 1936, they went on strike at his Boston Garden rodeo, demanding a bigger share of the gate as prize money. Garden management finally forced Johnson to relent, and the jubilant cowboys formed the Cowboys Turtle Association (CTA), which is now the powerful PRCA. A defeated Johnson sold his company and retired, never again to be seen or heard from in the rodeo business. Like the RAA, the CTA sanctioned no women's contests. The original board of the CTA included some of the top cowboys in the business: Hugh Bennett, Everett Bowman, Bob Crosby, Herman Linder, and Pete Knight. The CTA and RAA had a long and contentious relationship, but the cowboys ultimately prevailed.

Meantime, in 1931, promoters of the Stamford Cowboy Reunion invited all local ranches to send a young woman at least sixteen years old to compete in a Sponsor Contest designed "to add femininity to the all-male rodeo." The women were judged on who had the best horse, the most attractive outfit, and on horsemanship as they rode a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. The contest was a huge success, and was widely copied.

In 1939, Johnson’s replacement at Madison Square Garden, Everett Colburn, invited a group of Texas Sponsor Girls to appear at his rodeo as a publicity stunt. A second group appeared at the 1940 rodeo. It featured Hollywood singing Cowboy Gene Autry, and the women rode while he sang, “Home on the Range.” It was a tradition that continued for decades. Soon thereafter, Autry formed a rodeo company and took over not only Madison Square Garden, but also Boston Garden and most of the other major rodeos from coast-to-coast. One of his first actions was to discontinue the cowgirl bronc riding contest, which had been a highlight of the Madison Square Garden Rodeo since its inception in 1922. There was nothing left for cowgirls but the invitation-only sponsor girl event. Because of Gene Autry, real cowgirl contests disappeared from rodeos nationwide. Sponsor contests are the genesis of barrel racing, which is today the premier women’s rodeo event. However, Autry’s influence was far more vast and long-lasting. His popularity was such that producers nationwide found they could no longer attract a crowd without a western singer to headline their rodeos. Still today, rodeo is the only professional sport in which the athletes are not the featured performers. Autry is also credited with keeping the sport alive during World War II, thanks to his business acumen, and the heavily patriotic themes that permeated his productions.