I hate to start our new Boot Blog off with bad news, but it’s important to take a moment to remember Pro Rodeo Champion Jim Shoulders, who passed away from heart complications on June 20. He was 79.

Shoulders still holds the record of winning 16 Pro Rodeo World Championships in just 10 years, beginning with his first World Championship win in 1949. He was a master of most rodeo events, and won seven Pro Rodeo World Championships in bull riding, four in bareback and five all-around Championships.

Other notable achievements, of many, include winning the Calgary Stampede seven times and being the only person to ever win the famous Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo “all-around” title four times. He was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of fame in 1955, and was presented their prestigious Ben Johnson Award in 2004. In an interview shortly after that, Shoulders compared the old days to Rodeo today, saying “The biggest difference is money. You still ride a bronc or bull in eight seconds…”.

Shoulders also played a big part in bringing Pro Rodeo into the mainstream. His domination of the sport led to popularity that led him to represent Wrangler Western Wear since 1948 and appear in Miller Lite ads with Yankees manager Billy Martin.

We couldn’t put it any better than his son, Marvin Shoulders, who said “He was the Babe Ruth of rodeo . . . besides being one of the greatest rodeo cowboys, he was a great man.”

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