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Working Cowboys, Cowgirls and Stockmen

Ben Johnson Sr.: Cheyenne Steer-Roping Champion and Osage County Foreman

A ranch foreman who won at Cheyenne and set a Pendleton record, and father of the Academy Award-winning actor.

Who was Ben Johnson Sr.?

Ben Johnson Sr. was an Oklahoma cowboy, rancher and rodeo champion who lived from 1896 to 1952. The Hall of Great Westerners page calls him a cattleman and steer roper and records his induction in 1961. He is also the father of Ben Johnson Jr., a rodeo performer and Academy Award-winning actor.

His career combined ranch work with competitive roping, which is typical of the era: arena skills grew out of the work of handling cattle on big pastures.

From cowboy to ranch foreman

As a teenager he worked as a cowboy at the Chapman-Barnard Ranch near Pawhuska, Oklahoma. In 1935 he became its foreman, on a property the Cowboy Museum describes as 85,000 acres. He also operated his own ranch near Foraker, Oklahoma.

The ranch's headquarters is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed on March 2, 2001, with 10 contributing buildings and 3 contributing structures, according to the NRIS record for Chapman-Barnard Ranch Headquarters. The sources do not describe Johnson's day-to-day duties as foreman, so this profile does not either.

World War I and the rodeo circuit

After training horses for British and French troops in World War I, Johnson joined the rodeo circuit. He roped steers and calves, events that reward quick handling and precise timing.

The Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame listing credits him with championships at Cheyenne in 1922, 1923 and 1926 and a world record in calf roping in 1923.

How good was Ben Johnson Sr. as a roper?

He was the world champion steer roper at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1922, 1923 and 1926. At the 1927 Pendleton Round-Up, he roped three steers in 18 seconds, which the Cowboy Museum describes as a world record. The Cheyenne hall page describes the same 1927 performance as a steer-roping record with an average of 18 seconds on three steers.

A 1941 article in The Ranchman by Horn Clancy called him the greatest roper the rodeo arena ever knew, according to the Cheyenne hall page. That is one writer's judgment, not a measured fact, but it shows his reputation among his peers.

The Key to Johnson's Success

Johnson's record shows how a working cowboy could reach the top of the arena without leaving the ranch. The documented pattern is steady, and the sources are brief on motives, so these lessons stick to what they state.

  • He started as a teenage ranch hand at the Chapman-Barnard Ranch, learning cattle work on big pastures.
  • He trained horses for British and French troops in World War I, which built mounted skills beyond ordinary ranch work.
  • He competed at the highest level, winning at Cheyenne in 1922, 1923 and 1926.
  • He set speed records, including three steers in 18 seconds at Pendleton in 1927.
  • He kept ranch responsibilities, becoming foreman at Chapman-Barnard in 1935 and running his own ranch near Foraker.

Family and legacy

His son, Ben Johnson Jr., became a renowned rodeo performer and an Academy Award-winning actor, according to the Hall of Great Westerners. The Cheyenne hall page adds that his family has also competed and won at Cheyenne.

Johnson's Hall of Great Westerners induction came in 1961, nine years after his death. The Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame lists him in the contestant category with the year 2005, though the page does not say explicitly that this was his induction year.

Why this profile is thin

The sources I could open for Johnson are two short museum and hall pages and a National Register record. None gives a birthplace, a detailed ranch history or his years of marriage and family life, so this profile sticks to the documented outline.

For more on the Oklahoma ranching world in which he worked, see farm.FM's rodeo section, and a farm.FM story about Osage County ranching provides further reading.

Timeline

  1. 1896Born
  2. 1922Wins the steer roping title at Cheyenne Frontier Days
  3. 1923Wins again at Cheyenne; credited with a calf roping world record
  4. 1926Wins a third Cheyenne title
  5. 1927Ropes three steers in 18 seconds at the Pendleton Round-Up
  6. 1935Becomes foreman of the Chapman-Barnard Ranch
  7. 1952Dies
  8. 1961Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ben Johnson Sr.?

He was an Oklahoma cowboy, ranch foreman and rodeo champion (1896 to 1952), known for steer roping titles at Cheyenne and as the father of actor Ben Johnson Jr.

What ranch did Ben Johnson Sr. manage?

He became foreman of the Chapman-Barnard Ranch near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, in 1935. The Cowboy Museum describes the property as 85,000 acres.

What records did Ben Johnson Sr. set?

He roped three steers in 18 seconds at the 1927 Pendleton Round-Up, and the Cheyenne hall credits him with a 1923 calf roping world record.

Was Ben Johnson Sr. the actor Ben Johnson's father?

Yes. The Hall of Great Westerners says his son, Ben Johnson Jr., was a renowned rodeo performer and Academy Award-winning actor.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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