Rodeo Great Jim Shoulders Passes Away

Rodeo legend Jim Shoulders, 79, passed away on June 20th at 3:30 AM at his ranch in Henryetta, Oklahoma. He passed away in his sleep with his wife Sharon at his side. Jim had suffered from heart disease and congestive heart failure in recent years and was receiving hospice care at his home at the time of his death from kidney failure. "He was the Babe Ruth of rodeo," his son, Marvin Paul Shoulders, said. "Besides being one of the greatest rodeo cowboys, he was a great man."

Jim Shoulders was born in Tulsa in 1928 and was only 14 when he entered his first rodeo. Jim and his wife, Sharon, were married in 1947. She was always his biggest fan, even spending their honeymoon attending a rodeo at Madison Square Garden. He was as proud of his 60 year marriage, his children and their ranch in Henryetta as he was his rodeo career.

He was an Oklahoma native but he was also a long time resident of the world of rodeo. He has been described as one of the greatest cowboys in history. A title he deserved. He won 16 World Championships and 10 Reserve World Championships for a grand total of 26. A record that may never be broken in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. His PRCA championships included: seven world titles in bull riding, four world titles in bareback riding, and five world titles as all-round world champion. His reserve championships included four second-place finishes in the all around. He is the only man to win the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo in Wyoming all-around title four times and was a seven-time winner of the Calgary Stampede in Canada. These honors earned him a spot as a charter member of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

He won his first championship in 1949 when the PRCA, then known as the Rodeo Cowboys Association, named him World Champion All-Around Cowboy. He was 21 years old at the time. In 1955 the honor of being named the first All Around World Champion earned Shoulders charter membership into the newly founded National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Rodeo Hall of Fame. Jim was also inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Edmond, OK and is the only rodeo cowboy honored in the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame in New York City. His home state of Oklahoma inducted him into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2004 Rodeo Historical Society honored him with the prestigious Ben Johnson Award given to a living person who has advanced the sport of rodeo.

Undoubtedly one of the world's greatest bull riders of all time he was an avid supporter of the Professional Bull Riders. He was a familiar face at their finals in Las Vegas. In 1996 the PBR began what has become their highest award, the Ring of Honor. Jim Shoulders was one of the first recipients of this award.

Jim often reflected on the changes in the sport and how the most money he ever won in a single year was $50,000. He said that although the rules had basically stayed the same and that an 8-second ride was still a qualifying ride in the rough stock categories, today's riders can win what he won in a year at a single event.

Another record he held that will most likely never be broken is the longest sponsorship in the history of rodeo. He began representing Wrangler in 1949 and was doing so at his death. He also had a long association with Justin Boot Company. He was featured in a Miller Lite “All Star” advertising campaign that was both viewed on television and in print. In all these cases these sponsorships were instrumental in the growth of the sport in America and the publics awareness of the American rodeo cowboy.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon Shoulders; son, Marvin Paul Shoulders, three daughters and millions of fans. Services are 2 PM Sunday, June 24, at the outdoor 'Jim Shoulders Rodeo Arena', Nichols Park, Henryetta,OK with the Shurden Funeral Home handling arrangements. Memorials may be made to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund.

Photos from National Society Oral History Project