World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Cattle Drive Heroes and Trail Bosses

Bill Pickett, the Texas Cowboy Who Gave Rodeo Its Steer Wrestling Event

A Travis County cowhand became a Wild West headliner and the man credited with founding steer wrestling.

Who was Bill Pickett?

Bill Pickett was a Black cowboy and showman born on December 5, 1870, in Travis County, Texas, about thirty miles north of Austin. He is credited with founding bulldogging, the event rodeo now calls steer wrestling. He died on April 2, 1932, after a horse kicked him in the head at the 101 Ranch in Oklahoma.

The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture records that he was one of thirteen children of Thomas Jefferson Pickett and Mary Virginia Elizabeth Gilbert Pickett, finished fifth grade and then went to work on a ranch.

How did Bill Pickett invent bulldogging?

Pickett learned to bring a steer down by grasping its horns, twisting its neck and biting its nose or upper lip. The Oklahoma encyclopedia says he took the biting method from watching herder dogs control steers. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame notes the biting story as a popular legend.

He and four brothers (B. W., J. J., C. H. and B. F.) ran a horse-breaking business in Taylor, Texas, advertised as Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders. He entered his first rodeo in 1888 at the fair in Taylor and was a popular rodeo performer by the early 1900s.

The 101 Ranch Wild West Show

Pickett joined the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show in 1905, billed as the Dusky Demon, and performed with it for more than a quarter-century. In 1907 he moved his family from Texas to the 101 Ranch near Ponca City. In the off season he worked as a cowboy and competed in hundreds of rodeos across the West.

To enter some of those events, the Oklahoma encyclopedia says he was often identified as an Indian rather than an African American, a sign of the color lines in the arena. The record does not say how often this happened.

Pickett on film

Pickett is credited as the first Black cowboy star, a claim the Oklahoma encyclopedia makes plainly. He appeared in Crimson Skull (1921) and The Bull-Dogger (1922) for Richard E. Norman Studios, an all-African American company in Jacksonville, Florida. Both films were shot in Oklahoma.

The Key to Pickett's Success

Pickett's success came from a skill that drew crowds and from a willingness to perform it year after year. He also worked a regular ranch job, so the show was never his only income.

What the record shows:

  • He turned a working technique into an act, first with his brothers' show and then with the Miller Brothers.
  • He stayed with one employer, the 101 Ranch, for more than 25 years.
  • He kept ranch work alongside the arena, as the hall of fame notes.
  • He expanded into film with an African American studio when mainstream studios were closed to him.
  • The costs were real: segregation limited where he could compete, and the work was dangerous, ending in his death from a horse kick.

Death, burial and honors

Pickett died from head injuries inflicted by a horse at the 101 Ranch and was buried on the ranch near the White Eagle Monument. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1989 in the steer wrestling category, and the U.S. Postal Service featured him on a stamp in its Legends of the West series. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame page also lists a biography, Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy.

More on rodeo history

The Wikipedia article on Bill Pickett gives a further overview. Steer wrestling is a standard rodeo event today, and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame says Pickett left ranch work for the show arena in the 1890s, when he and his brother started their touring show for fairs and rodeos. For more on the sport's origins see the rodeo section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about rodeo. Readers who want a full-length biography can start with Bailey C. Hanes, Bill Pickett, Bulldogger (1977), cited by the Oklahoma encyclopedia.

Timeline

  1. 1870Born December 5 in Travis County, Texas
  2. 1888Enters his first rodeo at the fair in Taylor, Texas
  3. 1905Joins the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show
  4. 1907Moves his family to the 101 Ranch near Ponca City
  5. 1921Appears in Crimson Skull
  6. 1922Appears in The Bull-Dogger
  7. 1932Dies April 2 at the 101 Ranch after a horse kicks him
  8. 1989Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bill Pickett?

Bill Pickett was a Texas-born Black cowboy and Wild West performer credited with founding bulldogging, now called steer wrestling. He worked and performed with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch in Oklahoma for more than 25 years.

How did Bill Pickett die?

He died on April 2, 1932, from head injuries after a horse kicked him while he was breaking a colt at the 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. He is buried on the ranch near the White Eagle Monument.

When was Bill Pickett inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame?

He was inducted in 1989 in the steer wrestling category, according to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. He also appeared on a U.S. postage stamp in the Legends of the West series.

Sources and further reading

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

More from the hall