Fort Worth, Texas – December 21, 2009 – It’s unlikely that the four greatest all-around champions in rodeo history will ever be in the same room again.
That’s why journalists congregated to hear every word on Dec. 15, when Larry Mahan, Tom Ferguson, Ty Murray and Trevor Brazile offered up their thoughts on how they became rodeo’s all-stars and what they see in the sport’s future. It was the first time all of them had been together and in fact, prior to the event, Murray had never met Ferguson.
The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo gathered the legends on the floor of the historic Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, where each had won plenty of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association dollars that earned them their titles. The 114th annual Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo runs Jan 15 – Feb. 7, 2010. This event was held to gain rodeo recognition and inspire the media to come back to the rodeo and tell more great stories.
“We knew that Trevor winning his seventh all-around title would be newsworthy,” said Brad Barnes, executive vice president and general manager for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. “We decided to turn it into an event and include these other champions, and we’re sure glad we did. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone involved.”
Mahan, 66, and Ferguson, 58, own six world all-around titles apiece. Just three days earlier, Brazile, 33, had won his seventh gold buckle in that category to tie the record that Murray, 40, had held for 10 years.
Although two of the fearsome four barely set foot in an arena in the same era and competed on different ends of the arena, each without fail gave credit for his record-breaking career to the other three.
“If Ty had won three titles, we wouldn’t be here,” said Brazile. “If these guys hadn’t done what they did, I wouldn’t have done what I did. And I hope I inspire someone else.”
Mahan had been chasing Jim Shoulders’ record of five titles before he won his sixth in 1973. Then Ferguson won six straight titles from 1974 to 1979. Murray tied them with his sixth title in 1994, then won his seventh in ’98.
During the press conference, Murray was reminded by a gleeful Mahan that he finally knows how it feels to be tied. Murray had, in fact, been in the third grade when he set out to break Mahan’s record of six titles, and he revealed later that Brazile had a pretty early goal of his own.
“The first I heard of you,” Murray said, pointing at Brazile’s chest, “was when I walked into Bailey Hats where I guess your stepmom worked, and she said, ‘You’re my son’s idol and he’s going to break your record.’ I said, ‘Okay, sure. I’m sure he’s real cute.’”
Murray’s dry sense of humor notwithstanding, each champion had set the bar a little higher, and Brazile said he wouldn’t be changing history without Murray.
“All I knew when I got ready to rodeo,” Brazile offered back to Murray, “was that if Bailey Hats was one of your sponsors, I didn’t care if they even paid me as long as I got to be with the same company as you.”
With Murray’s wife, singer-songwriter Jewel, snapping photos, Brazile’s toddler son Treston providing background noise and Mahan’s dog, Ms, tied to a post with one of Roy Cooper’s old piggin’ strings, it was truly footage for the annals of history. Adding to the family affair were Ferguson’s sons Bo and Ty, the latter of whom was named after Murray.
The men discussed the changes in rodeo, including the way they travel, how sponsors have affected the way they make a living and the fact that publicity has changed awareness, while Murray mentioned his recommendation of a tiered competition system.
But the biggest light in their eyes came when they talked about why they competed in rodeo’s Iron Man category – the one demanding tons of guts, a tireless work ethic and an approach to life straight from the Old West.
Murray had read that Brazile said “this is the only gold buckle that has the word ‘cowboy,’ on it,” and wholeheartedly agreed that is the reason the all-around championship is so special. He warned Brazile that winning a record-breaking eighth championship could be the most difficult, as the seventh was for Murray after a string of injuries.
“I tell Trevor to remember to really enjoy the process of it,” Murray said. “That’s the funnest part anyway.”
But no matter how many more titles the young Brazile has left in him or how high he sets the bar in his career, those who came before him – and who were sitting beside him – won’t be forgotten.
“Trevor and I have talked about this,” Murray said. “I’m 40 now and I still look up to these guys sitting here like I did when I was 4.”
